Naruto: Pillars of Chaos
by RustyRed
Summary: ON HIATUS The Kyuubi’s attack was not simple, random chance. Now, six years later, the Beast Realm is splintering and demons walk the earth. Enter Naruto, a devious kid with something to prove. He’ll need it—he’s the catalyst.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.  
**

_The Summary:_ _"__The Kyuubi's attack was not simple, random chance. Now, six years later, the Beast Realm is splintering and demons walk the earth. Enter Naruto, a devious kid with something to prove. He'll need it—he's the catalyst."_

_And just to give everyone a better idea of where this fiction is headed: The Beast Realm and summoning will feature prominently. Demons and Jinchuuriki have motivations and purpose, and they will be central to the larger story arc. Naruto will heavily borrow, alter, and create his own techniques. There will be lots of traveling, lots of gritty battles, and (hopefully) lots of ninja/spy-esque action. There will be a great romance, but I ain't giving away the players (...okay, one of them will be Naruto :P). There will be ups and downs and Naruto will grow to be a great and influential person. Most of all, there will be unbiased character relationships (at least to the best of my ability--no bashing here), and lots of them. Dudsies, it's going to be a good ride, so I hope you stick around to see where it goes! So, without further ado..._

**NARUTO: PILLARS OF CHAOS**

Chapter 1

The little blond midget and the stooped old man stood next to each other in the dusty street. They were quite alone—it was supper-time for most, after all—and the rosy light of evening seemed forlorn rather than warm. There were escorts just of out sight, as usual, but for all intents and purposes, the place was deserted.

Sarutobi, former—and unfortunately also present—Hokage, glanced down at the sunny mop of hair, and a grin twitched beneath well-earned wrinkles. "Eh?" he prodded the boy with his gnarled walking stick.

The kid sighed at the unasked question, staring up at the dilapidated—or heavily 'loved'—building they stood in front of. Sarutobi could see the dubious expression on the boy's face—a cat yowled somewhere in a nearby alley, followed by the sound of clattering trash cans, and more distantly, a shrill argument carried easily to their ears—and found he could hardly blame him.

The boy was only six, after all.

Sarutobi sighed, and knelt down next to his little companion, ignoring the cracking in his joints. "It's not so bad, is it Naruto?"

The boy finally looked up with those sky-blue eyes, and the disgruntlement was plain on his face. "I miss my friends, ojiisan. Nobody's here!"

"I know, squirt, I know. But you'll make some new friends. And don't you want everyone to see how grown up you can be?" It was a thin ploy, and the old man grimaced inwardly. Of course Naruto would miss all of his friends at the orphanage, and they would all miss him. He was their ringleader after all. _And therein lies the problem_. The headmistress—not to mention the surrounding neighborhood—had finally had enough of the boy's mischief.

Making the kid responsible for himself was, undoubtedly, a plan doomed to disaster, but what other choice did he have? He patted a small shoulder with his gnarled old hand, and cursed at the world in general.

But his suggestion had the desired affect, and Naruto's faced lit up like the rising sun. "A grownup?" the boy echoed gleefully.

"Yep, with your own apartment, and your own money, and—"

"I can go out_side _whenever I _want_?" Naruto demanded, throwing fists into the air in his excitement.

"Well, yes—"

"And no _veg'tables_?"

"Ah, now you prob—"

"And no more _BATHS!_"

Sarutobi scrubbed forcefully at his bushy eyebrows and tried to ignore the pit of dread in his stomach. This was a mistake, he just knew it.

ooo

"Are you sure about this, Hokage-sama?"

Night had settled like a cool blanket over the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and Sarutobi crouched quietly on the old shingles across the street from Naruto's little apartment. He might be old, but he found nighttime excursions helped keep him sharp, if not necessarily well-slept.

He didn't even have to look up to identify who he was talking to—only a precious few people would be out here at this time of night, in this neighborhood, if they didn't have to be. "Kakashi." He sighed, slightly annoyed at the rasp that fifty years of smoking had made of his voice, and answered the question. "No."

The ANBU captain easily settled down next to the old man, lifting his dog-faced porcelain mask to look down at the sleeping boy with one clear eye. "Poor kid," he murmured.

Sarutobi thought there might have been real sympathy in that comment, and nodded. "He's going to have… a really tough life, I think. I'm afraid…" and there were so many things he was afraid of at that moment that he couldn't settle on anything, and fell silent.

After a moment, the silver haired captain said quietly, "He's a tough one. He's made of some stern stuff. I see him get picked on all the time, by some of the most unlikely people, and somehow he keeps bouncing back. If I'd taken that kind of abuse when I was his age…"

Sarutobi scowled at his subordinate. "I hope you're not trying to cheer me up right now, gaki."

Kakashi waved a hand apologetically. "Mah, I'm just saying he can deal with a lot. There's a reason he had such a… devout following at that orphanage."

Here Sarutobi stifled a chuckle. "I will miss that gang of midgets running around. There is nothing more amusing than knee-high children pulling off diabolical plans." He sighed, watching Naruto turn over in his sleep and disappear over the edge of the bed. The two shinobi didn't even twitch at the loud and high-pitched shout that followed. "Do an old man a favor and keep an eye out for him, when you can."

"Of course," Kakashi said automatically. "And don't worry, Hokage-sama. I'm sure that kid will have a new gang of midgets in no time at all."

Sarutobi huffed a tired laugh. "That's a bit what I'm afraid of."

ooo

Naruto liked strangers. If he had to be honest, which didn't happen often, he probably would have said he liked strangers even better than he did the people that knew him. Well, except for Ojiisan, but he didn't really see him that often. Or his friends, but they were still at the orphanage.

He tried really hard to be nice to everyone he met, because he'd noticed that for that small window of time, while the stranger still didn't know exactly who he was, he could start to win them over. And until some person who _did_ know who he was came up and filled the stranger in, Naruto knew what it felt like to have someone like him.

Unfortunately, it seemed like _everyone_ in Konoha recognized him. Maybe it was 'cause he looked weird--he didn't know anyone else with yellow hair, blue eyes, and weird whisker marks on their cheeks. The Yamanakas, who had a flower shop nearby, were blond haired and blue eyed, but even they at least had the same skin-color as everybody else.

Strangers from outside the village were the very best of all, because often they didn't have places to go right away, and if some villager happened to come up and tell them about Naruto—and what exactly people always said, Naruto had never found out—the foreigners weren't as likely to believe or care.

It was by this mix of circumstances that the little yellow haired boy could often be found sitting at the Ramen stand nearest the big town gates. It was an unassuming little place, squeezed in between a hot sake bar and a greasy wonton stand, situated along an equally crowded and busy thoroughfare. He liked ramen, of course, and the people who served there—an old man and his daughter—were very nice to him. But he really went to talk the ear off of any travelers or visitors to the village who would stop to eat.

More often than not, the travelers were covered in road dust and tired from their trip, but the little boy was too boisterous and cute to be denied. He told them all about Konoha, and they would tell him all about the big wide world and wherever their travels had taken them.

Most of the time they were just normal people—on a journey to visit relatives, or to secure trade agreements, or one of the countless other reasons a person might journey from their home to another village. But sometimes the person ducking under the faded squares of cloth that hung down in front of the shop would be different. They would take a seat on one of the creaky old stools in front of the steaming pots of broth, and even though every angle of their body would speak of weariness, they would exude an aura of confidence and danger that drew Naruto like a moth to a flame.

He didn't know who they were, but the one thing they all had in common was a smallish rectangle of pounded steel, usually tied around a forearm or forehead, and engraved with some kind of symbol. Naruto recognized Konoha's symbol—there were lots of these people out and about with that spiral leaf etching—and it became a game he played with himself to try and see if he recognized any of the strange ones.

Tonight he'd had little luck; having spent most of the day tramping through the woods outside of town, he hadn't gotten around to dropping in on Ichiraku Ramen until it was past dark. The street was alive with activity, seeing as there was a festival coming up, and paper lanterns added to the lights from shops and bright signs.

Naruto managed to maneuver through the crowds, and wedged himself in next to a pair of travelers to shout, "Yo, old man!"

Teuchi, the old man in question, looked up from filling another order and his shiny face cracked into a smile. "Hey kid! You having the usual?"

"Uhn!" the little boy nodded an affirmative, and the old man set to it with a chuckle.

"Hello, Naruto-kun!" the old man's daughter called from the back. Ayame was a pretty girl—the prettiest girl Naruto thought he had ever met—and very nice. He could only smile and blush, pleased that she had bothered to great him.

While his dinner was cooking, he listened with half an ear to the conversations around him, tapping out a beat on the counter with his chopsticks as he waited. The travelers next to him were talking about the recent increase of 'missing' missing-nin—a complaint that went right over Naruto's head in more ways than one. First of all, what was a missing-nin? And second, if they were already missing, how could you tell that they were _doubly _missing?

The perplexing problem was summarily forgotten as a massive presence made itself known, sitting down next to him in a rush of cool air and the scent of sake mixed with tobacco.

Naruto found himself leaning back as he looked up, and tried to make sense of the great mass of spiky white hair that gave every sign that it should be a human. Then he leaned forward slightly, catching sight of a lean face with strange red lines tattooed like abstract tear streaks. They ran from the dark brown eyes to a stubbly jaw, and Naruto noticed that the man's eyelashes were white too. His gaze darted to the steel plate tied to the man's forehead, and his stomach flipped in excitement. It was a weird one, with two tiny horns poking up at either corner, and a strange kanji instead of the usual symbol.

"Who are you?" Naruto blurted, unable to contain himself any longer.

The big man looked down at him with something like surprise, and retorted, "Who are _you_?"

Naruto scowled. "I asked you first."

"I asked you second!" the man said, and mimicked the boy's expression to humorous effect.

This made Naruto belly-laugh despite his best efforts—he had an important question to ask. Pointing at the steel plate with a small but accusatory finger, he declared, "Your symbol doesn't look like anybody else's. It's weird!"

"Aah," the man began theatrically. "That's because _I_ am not like anybody else! I am the renowned Toad Hermit, of the legendary Sannin—"

"What's a 'sannin'?"

The man sputtered to a stop, letting his mouth fall open. Before he had time to respond, a big steaming bowl of miso ramen was set down in front of Naruto. The boy shot both fists into the air, shouting delightedly, "Itadakimasu!" before digging in with ferocious single-mindedness.

The big man watched him bemusedly for a moment, before turning to a patiently waiting Teuchi. "I'll have what he's having."

While they ate, Naruto told the big smoky smelling man about where he lived, and where the best spots to climb were, and how his 'ojiisan' would visit him sometimes. The big man nodded along, sometimes teasing the boy or asking about where his ojiisan lived, to which Naruto vaguely waved toward the Hokage's tower—if the old man lived anywhere else, Naruto didn't know about it.

After a short time, when Naruto was reasonably satisfied with his noodles, he repeated his first question. "So what's a sannin?"

"A Sannin," the big man said, picking out the fishcakes in his ramen with his chopsticks and, having noticed he favored them, depositing them in the little boy's bowl, "Is one of three legendary ninjas from Konoha, including my—"

"What's a missing-nin?" Naruto interrupted, remembering the conversation he'd overheard earlier.

The white-haired man scowled comically again. "That's a ninja who abandons his village and goes on the run. Then loyal ninjas have to go out and hunt down that person, and they're called 'hunter-nins'." He looked mildly surprised that he'd managed to finish more than one sentence.

Naruto nodded, and frowned hard at the broth leftover from his ramen. "So…" he began, feeling as if this might be the clincher to the whole thing. "What's a ninja?"

The white-haired man stared at the little boy for a long moment, and then abruptly threw back his shaggy head and laughed. He reached over and mussed up Naruto's hair and said, "You are just disgustingly cute, kid." Then he puffed up and stuck a thumb at his big chest. "_I'm _a ninja!"

Naruto stared at him, nonplussed, and the big man held up a finger. "Watch this." Picking up a chopstick, he pressed it vertically against his nose, and Naruto swore he saw a flicker of blue light. When he took his hand away, the chopstick stayed in place.

Naruto's bright eyes widened, and he stared from the utensil to the man's laughing eyes and back again. "How…?"

"I'll tell you what, kid," the man said, tapping the side his nose conspiratorially. "You meet me here same time tomorrow, and if you haven't figured out how to do it, you get to buy me dinner."

Naruto scowled, not to be so easily fooled. "Why would I wanna do that?"

The man's smile grew wider. "If you _can_ do it, I'll buy _you_ dinner. Deal?" He held out a calloused hand.

Naruto's face split into a devious grin. Free food? "Deal!"

All he had to do was figure out what that blue light was, and he'd have this trick down easy!

ooo

**A/N: **Yo people! If you can't tell, this is pretty much my first fanfiction EVar, so go easy on meh. I've pretty much just started it, though I do have a lot of the concept really well worked out. So I hope to update at least weekly, you know, but if that doesn't happen, it don't mean I've lost interest or anything like that. It probably just means that I've gotten either behind or ahead of myself, but it will all work out in the end. SO. Yeah, Naruto is a little midgetty midget at this point, but don't worry, it's not going to be for a super extended amount of time. AND, I'm gonna try my damndest to make this piece of fiction a balance of drama and action, so if ya feel it's leaning too far in one direction or the other, don't hesitate to share. And lastly, I hadn't realized that this chapter would turn out to be so short, so you can count on longer installments in the future. And just you wait--it's gonna be a super cool, break-neckker of a ride, so stay tuned! :D


	2. Chakka

Ooo Chapter 2: Chakka ooO

Naruto woke the next morning as he usually did; very suddenly, and all at once. A sunbeam had slowly been working its way toward the sleeping boy's eyelid, and the very second it hit, the boy flinched, throwing his limbs into the air and generally thrashing awake.

He scrubbed his face with an uncoordinated swipe, and rolled out of bed. His slapping footsteps took him straight to the kitchen with little fanfare, and by the time his eyes were truly open, his hands had already managed to assemble a bowl of cereal and were reaching for the milk.

He yawned widely, exposing a snaggle-toothed maw, and heard his jaw pop. Cereal bowl in hand, he made his way over to the counter and clambered up onto a stool—he had to try for it twice before he managed to get up properly.

His apartment might have been considered a disgrace on several levels—it wasn't in great shape to begin with. The paint was peeling, the carpet had been ripped up and never replaced with anything, and there were stains of worrying shapes and sizes on the ceiling. The windows had been painted shut, and only consistent and judicious use of a screwdriver had cracked them open. The door only shut properly if you lifted it while pulling the last few inches; otherwise it ground into the floor. And then there was the mess that just came along with Naruto when he moved in. He wasn't a slob, really, just very interested in everything and easily distracted. There was his rock collection, which was supplemented by any little thing that caught his fancy (bird's egg shells, pine cones, acorns, bits of antler or cast aside trinkets). He had quite a number of potted plants that were doing their damnedest to outgrow their pots, and, with nobody to tell him otherwise, he had made an open canvas of the aged walls, using paint he'd nicked from the orphanage on his way out the door.

Ojiisan had been helping him to read and write for the past year (well…he had let him sort paperwork, helping Naruto puzzle things out as they went), so that he could learn to shop for himself, and there were scrolls and kid's books stuffed in a leaning old bookshelf and spilling out onto the floor. If a person were to look closely at some of those scrolls, they would find plans for pranks in scrawling script, and sketches of scaffolding or whatever props he needed to pull them off.

He hardly paid attention to his breakfast—his body was on auto-pilot while he tried to think of how he would solve today's problem. _It must be something only _ninjas _can do_, he thought reasonably. He knew if he concentrated really hard, or got really angry, sometimes he could see the air ripple around him, and it _seemed_ like a glow, but he didn't know how to actually do anything with it—it just really freaked him out when it happened. Up until last night, he hadn't really known a person _could_ do anything with it.

He frowned as he shoveled in another mouthful. Did he know any ninjas? If they all wore those head-plate things, then… He drained his bowl with a grin and hopped off the stool. He barely paused to pull on a t-shirt (over the shorts he'd slept in) and his sandals, grabbing several items he kept a ready stock of as he went, before dashing out the door. His quick descent down the stairs—jumping six steps at a time—caused several tenants to poke their heads out their doors and shout in irritation, but by then Naruto was long gone.

He tore down the street like a bat out of hell, kicking up dust and generally frightening people who were out doing their morning chores. Shouts of "Damn brat!" and "Demon-child!" followed him, but he ignored them as usual. He had things to do and places to be.

He scanned the buildings to either side, eyes tracing the cobbled-together pipelines and mishmash of crowded roofs and plaster siding. Power lines strung every which way, crossing and tangling with lines of drying wash, and decks crowded against roof-top gardens. He could see people dumping wash water from their windows and opening restaurant stands for the day, and he darted around carts of fresh fruit as they were pushed out into the street.

"ANBU-san!" he called at the top of his lungs. A flash of black from a second story roof was all the sign he got, and his little arm coiled back with long practice. In a blink, he let loose two water balloons, and they pelted straight for his target. One splashed spectacularly on blue plaster siding, but the other found its mark: the ANBU's masked face.

Naruto almost tripped in surprise and joy—he'd never managed to actually hit one before!—but those happy feelings soon shivered into a giddy hysteria as he took off at a ninety degree angle, with the ANBU hot on his tail.

"I got you!" Naruto shrieked with laughter, as if his pursuer needed to be goaded any further.

Normally the black-clad shadows did just that—they shadowed him, but stayed out of sight. He would try to talk to them sometimes, but they rarely answered back. He'd learned long ago that if he wanted to engage them at all, he either had to do something dangerous (so they had to rescue him), or something that pissed them off (so that they'd chase him). He glanced back, and saw the plain white mask of an ANBU in training, and it only made him laugh harder as he ran.

He still had one balloon left, but he wanted to save it. He darted around corners, bounced up onto fire escapes and sped across thick power lines. Roof tops passed by in a blur; they were all so close together that even his short legs could power him over the gaps between buildings. The ANBU was getting too close, and Naruto abruptly dropped out of sight into an alley, and streaked away into the crowded street once more.

"ANBU-san!" he called back, huffing as he jumped over a cart. "Are you a ninja?"

To his delight, he heard a snort and a grunt as his pursuer narrowly avoided that same cart. "Yes!"

Naruto skidded on one leg underneath a street-side table and darted down another side avenue. It was crowded, and he used his momentum to run up the side of a building before jumping away to grab a roof-edge on the other side of the narrow lane. "Hah!" Naruto grunted, ducking as the ANBU sailed by, his outstretched arm narrowly missing the boy.

"Can you teach me how to use this?" Naruto asked as the ninja skidded around and prepared to renew the chase. The little boy raised a fist and clenched it tightly, face screwed up in determination. For a moment nothing happened, and the ANBU paused. The air grew still and hot, before suddenly blasting outward, sending a rolling wave of dust and debris with it. When the ANBU looked up again, there was a triumphant expression on the young boy's face, and his fist along with most of his arm was glowing with billowing blue light.

The ANBU stood up straight and stared, lifting one hand to pull up his mask. Black eyes shifted into blazing red, and the black haired ninja studied the boy bemusedly. "Nope," he replied, sounding quite honest.

The boy's blue light puttered out then, and he hefted his last water balloon. The ANBU's eyes widened slightly as the yellow-haired boy shouted, "Stingy!" and made to throw. At the last minute the boy chucked it high into the air with a laughing, "Catch!"

The ANBU reflexively looked up to do just that, and Naruto made his getaway, cackling madly.

Ooo

_That didn't work_, Naruto thought to himself later, having reached the woods without seeing another ANBU. The gnarly old trees grew taller the further from the village you got, but the forest near the walls was still sunlit and full of underbrush—perfect for exploring or building forts in.

Naruto was sitting in a particularly stout black pine that was just tall enough for him to see over most of the other trees, and he had a good view of part of the village along with the towering line of cliffs to the north, and the massive stone faces carved there. But the view was lost on him at the moment.

Frowning to himself, he flicked one finger after another, focusing short bursts of the hot blue light from each. He found it easy to push things with it—he hardly had to concentrate anymore to get a short burst that could stir the pine needles around him—but getting something to stick? He had a hard time keeping his imagination from wandering when he thought of all the possibilities.

He could push with it… Maybe he could grab with it? He extended one hand toward an overhanging branch laden with broad leaves, and tried to imagine his blue light had tiny jaws to latch on with. At first the leaves just fluttered lamely, but he jumped when one began to shred in half.

"Argh," he muttered. "Stick!"

The leaves stopped fluttering and he gathered his resolve and tried again. _Maybe like a vacuum cleaner, _he thought. He tried whirling the light from two sides, so that the leaves were sucked toward the middle. They stirred briefly, pulling toward the vacuum, but the minute he let up they sprang back.

"Argh!" he growled with increased venom. "How does this work?"

_Stick. Stick, stick, stick…_ He brightened. Maybe he could make the light sticky? If he'd known anything about the properties of light, he would have realized how absurd that thought sounded. But he didn't, and it was obvious anyway that this blue light didn't behave like normal light. He pinched his thumb and finger together, and tried to imagine the feel of something sticky between them. This was very easy for Naruto, as he'd gotten into many sticky things in his short life. He could almost feel a sort of static cling between the two fingers, and rubbed them together to dispel it.

Nodding to himself, he reached once more for a leaf, and tried to recall that sensation while concentrating on the blue light. He could see it there, vibrating around his fingers, but nothing happened. He inched closer, but the leaf only twitched. Screwing up his face, he leaned ever closer, until his fingers were nearly brushing it, and the leaf slowly lifted to tap his fingers… and stuck.

His eyes widened as he realized what had happened. He was so excited that he sat back, and the leaf popped away from his fingers again. Hardly able to keep the smile from his face, he reached forward one more time and the leaf clung to his hand again. This time when he pulled away, he focused very hard, and the leaf came away from the branch all together.

"Hah!" he shouted in exultation. Until something broke the connection, or he forced it away again, the leaf would stay stuck to his fingers. He was grinning ear to ear, thinking he'd solved the trick, and that the old man was going to have to pay for his dinner—until he realized that the man had stuck a chopstick to his _nose._ The ramifications of this erased the smile from Naruto's face. "Aw, damn!" _Damn the old man, damn this blue stuff, damn my nose, and damn ojiisan for not telling me about—_

"Is someone up there?" came an abrupt voice, and Naruto promptly fell from his tree.

He landed with a light thud in a plume of dust and pine needles and immediately bounced to his feet. Being all of forty pounds had its advantages. "What's the big idea sneaking up on me!" he demanded, pointing at his assailant.

The other boy, who had unruly brown hair and black eyes, blinked at him before flinging his own finger forward. "That's what you _get_ when you talk to yourself, weirdo! What kinda ninja are you if you can't even tell when someone's coming?"

"I wasn't—" Naruto began, and then stopped. "I'm not—did you just call me a ninja?"

The brown-haired boy lifted his hands in theatrical exasperation. "Weren't you the one molding chakra up there?"

Naruto, who had originally been considering kicking this kid's butt, couldn't resist the wave of curiosity that washed over him. "What's chakka?"

"Chak_ra_," the boy corrected, while a massive shape emerged from the underbrush.

"Don't try to lie to us, kid," boomed the shape's deep voice. Naruto stared wide-eyed up at the giant black dog that padded into the clearing and sat down next to the other boy with a huff. "We could smell your chakra from a mile away."

Naruto wasn't sure what to say. He was fairly certain that he _wasn't_ a ninja. Apparently the dog had evidence of this 'chakra', but… "Wait, do you mean this?" He held up a finger and flared the blue light.

The dog gave a mighty sneeze, shaking its big head, and said, "Yes. Now stop it."

"What does it smell like?" Naruto asked curiously, letting his 'chakra' wane.

"Spicy. And _annoying_, if I'm not used to it."

"So you _are_ a ninja," the brown haired boy broke in, sounding triumphant.

"Nope. Are you?"

"Nah, but I'm gonna be!"

Naruto considered this declaration carefully. He didn't really know anything about being a ninja, except what he'd heard talking to the foreign ones who stopped at Ichiraku's. They'd told him all sorts of amazing stories, but nothing about the basics. Maybe the other boy could teach him. "You wanna play with me?"

"Okay!" the brown haired boy agreed enthusiastically. He thrust out a hand. "I'm Kiba. My family lives over there—" he waved vaguely in the direction of the taller trees, "—we pretty much own this place."

Naruto shook the other boy's hand, grinning. "I'm Naruto! I have my own apar—apart—um, house."

Kiba's eyes grew wide. "Who-oah."

The big black dog spoke up. "Uhm, I really think we should find out if—"

Both boys shouted the dog down at the same time. "Two against one!"

They raced off into the bushes, and the dog heaved itself to its feet with a growling sigh. _Damn you, democracy._

Ooo

The Sandiame Hokage sat back in his chair with a tired grunt. Meeting with representatives from the Fire Daimyo always wore him out and pissed him off. Not only did the Hokage's ideas differ fundamentally from the Feudal Lord's, but the representatives the man sent were complete idiots. Sarutobi wasn't even sure that they were interpreting the Daimyo's words correctly, because there was very rarely any sense in their demands.

The Hokage knew what was needed—some kind of liaison between the military and the state who came from Konoha's side. But there weren't any sufficiently qualified shinobi to spare. The war with Iwa, and then the attack from the Kyuubi some six years ago, had left Konoha reeling and embarrassingly low on manpower. At this point, their place of power among the hidden villages was a facade. It would only be a matter of time before the other villages figured it out.

Sarutobi scrubbed his face, and tried to focus on the short term. Looking at the storm clouds on the horizon would do him no good if he fell into the hole right in front of him.

He was just about to light his pipe for a well-earned de-stressor when a quiet footfall sounded from the window. He turned to see an ANBU agent crouched there, and noted the featureless white mask. "Itachi. Report."

"Hokage-sama," the man acknowledged, straightening and removing his mask. "Several hours ago, I lost my target—"

Sarutobi stiffened sharply. "Weren't you on Naruto duty today?"

"Yes," Itachi replied, barely batting an eyelash. "I was in pursuit—"

"I'm sorry, did you say you were _chasing_ the boy?" Sarutobi asked, his voice going dangerously quiet. His temper was legendary—he was slow to ignite, but once lit, heads would roll. And Naruto, well… the boy reserved a rather large spot in the Hokage's heart, and there was nothing like someone mistreating him to get Sarutobi's blood boiling.

Itachi seemed to sense this, and with uncharacteristic haste, explained, "It wasn't like that, Hokage-sama. He likes to provoke us into chasing him—I would theorize that he craves the attention."

The Hokage sat back, chuckling, and he saw Itachi visibly relax. "And how did he provoke you?"

Itachi looked to the side. "It's really not relevant, Hoka—"

"Oh, come on kid, I hardly get to laugh anymore."

"He hit me with a water balloon."

Sarutobi snorted, blessing the yellow-haired kid silently. With a wave, he said, "All right then, go on. What is the issue? And make it quick, I have another appointment in several minutes."

The Uchiha straightened, transforming into a professional ANBU once more. Sarutobi wondered if the boy would ever loosen up. "There are several issues I'd like to bring to your attention. Firstly, I've noticed that the target—"

"Naruto."

"—yes, Naruto. I've noticed that Naruto has formidable physical skills, especially in the area of pursuit and escape. How old is he, Hokage-sama?"

"Six. Almost seven, next month."

"Six years old, and he moves like a gennin—almost a chunnin. How? Has he had any training in chakra enhancement?"

Sarutobi frowned. "Not that I know of."

Itachi nodded. "And yet the boy is outrunning your agents on a regular basis, and literally bouncing off walls, completely unaided."

"That… is puzzling. I suppose I have become desensitized to such physical feats, but you're right. It's no surprise for a ninja, but he's not a ninja yet." The Hokage looked up at the ANBU keenly. "What else?"

"Well, as you say, he hasn't had any chakra training. However, when I confronted him, he asked me if I would teach him how to use 'this', and then held up his fist. Hokage-sama, he is already manifesting corporeal chakra emissions."

Sarutobi stared at him, and slowly lifted a hand to rub his chin. _How…? _His blood chilled for a moment. _Could it be that?_ "Itachi, what color was his chakra?" It was a very rudimentary indication—after all, no one really knew what color the _other_ chakra would be, but…

"Blue." If Itachi thought the question strange, he gave no sign.

"Blue." Sarutobi echoed, and realized he wasn't sure how he felt about that. If it had been something else, at least he'd have a _reason_ for Naruto's frankly baffling chakra levels. But now, he had no idea. "That is…troublesome."

"It is not my place to make such suggestions, Hokage-sama, but if I might…?" Sarutobi nodded his indication to proceed. "Train the boy. Train him now, or you risk losing a very valuable asset."

The Hokage grimaced, hearing wisdom in the Uchiha's words. At the same time, he saw living evidence standing before him of what would happen if he did that to Naruto. Itachi was the up-and-coming pinnacle of shinobi excellence, and yet… there was something missing in him. He was perhaps too cold, too calculating, too obedient. Sarutobi still regretted the decision to accelerate the young Uchiha's career. In very short order, the young man would make full ANBU agent, and most likely captain. And he would excel. Is that what Sarutobi wanted? Another Itachi? Naruto might not even _want_ to be a shinobi. Maybe he would decide to be a gardener, or a painter. He certainly showed an interest and an aptitude for both of those things as well.

He finally sighed. "Thank you, Itachi. I will keep your recommendation in mind." He paused, before coming to a decision. "I know you are very busy with training, and your full induction has to be coming up soon, but I would like to ask a favor of you."

The ANBU waited patiently. A favor requested from the Hokage was an order in all but name, and not to be declined.

"Observe him. If you happen to be assigned to him again, make yourself available to him. Answer his questions." _Be a mentor to him, as I can not. _"And let me know what you find."

Itachi bowed once. "Of course, Hokage-sama." When he looked up, there was something in his eyes that Sarutobi hadn't seen before. Where they… livelier?

"Very good, then. You're dismissed." The ANBU turned to the window, but Sarutobi remembered something just in time. "Oh, Itachi—you said you lost him hours ago?"

"I found him again soon after. He's been running around on the Inuzuka lands all day with their youngest."

"Ah." Sarutobi smiled. Itachi bowed again and slipped silently out the window. Sarutobi regarded the evening sky for a moment, appreciating how the last rays of sun lined the western trees with fire and gold. "Not a bad day," he murmured to himself. Turning, he set aside his pipe for later and pressed a button on his desk. "Send in my next appointment, please."

After a moment, the door to his office opened, and he was surprised to see his secretary standing there, looking embarrassed.

"What is it?" he asked, frowning.

"Jiraiya-sama left a message for you, saying he couldn't wait any longer—"

Sarutobi scowled. "Of all the—what an impatient brat! Did he give a reason, or did he just flutter off into the night?"

The secretary blushed. "He said he had a dinner date that he could not miss."

"Of course he did." Sarutobi scowled even deeper. "The legendary _Sannin_. What a bunch of degenerates my students have become."

Ooo

Naruto trudged through the busy streets, head down, and for once in his young life, he dreaded going to Ichiraku Ramen. It wasn't that he was tired (though by all rights he should have been; Kiba seemed to have as much energy as _he_ did, and almost the same wanderlust), or that he had suddenly stopped liking ramen, no… he dreaded it because he was going to disappoint the big white-haired ninja. He'd continued to stick leaves to his fingers all the way back into town—even tried to imbue the leaves with chakra to stick them to his nose, but he'd gotten nothing out of it except some very blistered fingers. He was going to disappoint the man, and then he was going to have to buy him dinner.

If there were any two things Naruto hated, it was proving people right in their doubts, and parting with his money. But he had made a deal, and even if he knew he'd failed, he wasn't going to back out on it.

So it was with a heavy heart and an unusually solemn face that Naruto shuffled up to the ramen stand and hopped onto a stool. The big ninja wasn't there yet, and Naruto set his chin in his palms, gazing in an accusatory fashion at any chopsticks that had the misfortune of being in his range of vision.

"Hey Naru—oy, what's the matter kid?" Teuchi's concerned face appeared over the counter.

"I couldn't do the trick," Naruto told him sadly.

"What trick?" the man asked kindly.

"The one that old ninja showed me yesterday."

"Ah, you mean Jiraiya-sama?"

Naruto cocked his head—_was that his name?_—as someone outside the ramen stand sneezed loudly.

"Hey brat!" boomed a familiar voice, and then the big white-haired man was sliding onto the stool next to him while patting him on the back with enough force to knock the wind out of him. "I wasn't sure you were gonna show!"

Naruto recovered his breath enough to wheeze, "I'm not a chicken!"

"All right then, talk is cheap. Let's see it!"

Naruto looked down, bravado forgotten. "Well, I couldn't figure out how to do it right…"

"Hmm…" the big man called Jiraiya allowed, stroking his stubbly chin. "Well, how about this. You still get to buy me dinner—"

"Aw!"

"—but in return, I'll teach you the secret of how to do it. Fair?"

Naruto brightened visibly. "Okay!"

Jiraiya grinned at the little boy, before turning to the ramen chef. "Give me two of whatever he has."

"Pork!" Naruto chimed in, and Teuchi saluted him before getting to work.

Jiraiya turned in his stool, putting one elbow on the counter, and addressed the little boy. "Okay, let's start with the basics. You know what chakra is, right?"

Naruto nodded, slightly wide-eyed. He'd never had an adult give him their full attention like this, and it made him feel…important. Or at least, more important than the stray dog that needed to be kicked out of the way, or the cockroach that needed to be stamped under a heel. It was like Jiraiya had narrowed down his whole world to just Naruto, and he felt what it was like to be… acknowledged.

"Good," the man said, oblivious to the boy's epiphany. "The first thing you need to be able to do is focus your chakra into one point—"

"You mean like this?" Naruto interrupted, and gently flared a bit on his thumb, careful to avoid the burned fingers.

"Well—yes," Jiraiya said, looking slightly baffled. "Exactly like that. Jeez, kid, let me see your hands."

Naruto obediently offered them up, and the big ninja grunted to himself. "Chakra burns. You been at this all day, haven't you?"

Naruto shrugged. "Part of the day."

Jiraiya studied him for a moment, before saying quietly, "Show me what you can do."

Naruto grimaced, knowing that it was going to sting, and picked up a chopstick. Neither noticed as two bowls of ramen were set in front of them—they were both too focused on what Naruto was doing.

He placed the stick on the counter. Frowning in concentration, and ignoring the pain that came with it, he willed his chakra into that same clingy behavior. It blurred the line of his hand, making it difficult to look at, and he reached for the stick with one finger. Jiraiya's mouth opened slightly, but he said nothing, and Naruto gently poked the utensil. It lifted off the counter easily, and Naruto waggled his finger at the older man in demonstration.

"What are you doing with your chakra there?" Jiraiya asked quietly, totally focused on the stick. Several other customers had turned to watch.

"Making it sticky."

Jiraiya glanced up at the boy's bright blue eyes. "That's… very good. Not what I did at all, but very very good."

The chopstick clattered unceremoniously onto the counter. Naruto had only heard one thing. "It's _not_? Crap, I didn't do anything right!"

"No, no!" Jiraiya waved his hands consolingly. "There is more than one way to do the same thing, kid. You just picked a hard way."

Naruto folded his arms, scowling up at him. "Okay…"

Jiraiya drummed on the counter, trying to think of a way to explain. "Okay, think about it this way. If you wanted to pick something up, would it be easier to change the nature of your hand so that it was sticky, or would it be easier to just hold it in your fist?"

Naruto thought about this. "Hold it. But I tried once to make the chakra bite on to it…"

Jiraiya shook his head. "That's different. Everything you're doing creates a permanent connection that has to be forcibly or consciously broken. That's different from just holding and letting go. Do you see?"

Naruto made a face. "Kind of. So it's supposed to just… let go when I stop trying?"

The big shinobi nodded, looking pleased. "Give it a try."

Naruto did, oblivious to the small audience he'd gathered. _Just hold on to it,_ he thought. _No grabbing, no attaching. Pretend it's just like picking something up with your hand. Hold it there._ He tried several times, poking the chopstick, scowling, gathering his resolve, and poking again. "Not so much," Jiraiya murmured. "A little less."

And finally… "Hah!" Naruto shouted, and about ten other people celebrated along with him, clapping and patting him on the back. He flushed happily, letting the chopstick fall, and beamed up at Jiraiya.

"Nice job, kid," the big man said gruffly, smiling back.

The little boy's grin faltered slightly as he remembered something. "How did you get it to stick to your nose?" He punctuated the question by squashing said appendage.

"Whaat?" Jiraiya feigned extreme surprise. "I thought this would be the easiest part for you!" He leaned close, like he had a big secret to tell. "Did you really think chakra only comes from your hands?"

Naruto blinked, and then his expression grew positively devilish as he imagined all the tricks he could play. The possibilities were endless, and his eyes took on a slightly glazed cast.

Jiraiya laughed out loud at his expression, slapping his knees as he rocked back in his seat. "There you go! You're pretty sharp, squirt." He patted the boy on the shoulder. "Eat your noodles, kid, I'm buying. What's your name?"

Naruto puffed up his chest, wondering if he'd ever been so happy. "Uzumaki Naruto!"

"Uzumaki, eh?" Jiraiya echoed. "Heh."

OoO

OoO

**A/N: **Aah, okay, I swear we're about to transition to older Naruto. Writing about little Naruto is sort of hard, because he's six, and obviously his thought processes are kind of simple. Also, a big thank you to my single reviewer! Hehehe... I guess I'll see you guys next week! ;)


	3. Happy Birthday, DemonBrat

Ooo Chapter 3: Happy Birthday, Demon Brat ooO

"Sensei," Jiraiya was saying several days later as he and the Sandiame approached the top of the Hokage monument. They had both agreed that it had been entirely too long since either had done something so masochistic, and decided to make an afternoon of it.

"Hn?" the Hokage grunted, eyes glued to the steep and rocky path. The old man had ditched the robes of his office for a more practical set of pants and tunic. Jiraiya guessed the bald dome of the Hokage's head hadn't seen the sun for quite some time.

"I met a pretty remarkable kid the other day."

"Did you now?" Sarutobi wheezed. "Hah, I should stop smoking."

Jiraiya privately echoed the sentiment, but he was having an easier time of it than his old sensei was. "Yeah, the little brat learned some pretty advanced chakra manipulation in just a day of practice."

They had reached the top of the cliffs before either spoke again, and they both stood huffing and puffing like the old men that they were. The wind was strong at the top, and it was never more obvious how sheltered Konoha was than when you stood up here. If you turned to the north, away from the village, the bald rock sloped away gently at first, and stretched for quite a ways supporting only lichen and bits of moss. The angle of descent gradually sharpened, until the rock dropped off completely, plunging to the floor of a broad and hazy valley. The trees in the valley were old growth and formidably tall. To the northwest, and curving back around the cliffs toward Konoha, one could just catch a glimpse of the arboreal monstrosities that made up Training Area #44, better known as the Forest of Death.

"Sure makes a difference when you just use plain old muscle power," Jiraiya panted. "Why didn't we bring any water?"

Sarutobi laughed. "Your wrinkles are showing, grasshopper." He sobered, and looked down at the village. "I'm not surprised that you found an impressive kid. Konoha has a very promising batch of gennin and chuunin this year, thank the gods."

Jiraiya shook his head, stirring his mane of white spikes. "This was no gennin, Sensei. He looked like he was about five."

The Hokage went still, gazing out into the hazy distance. Then he sighed. "That kid will be the death of me. Was it Naruto?"

Jiraiya chuckled. "That's the one."

"Remind you of anyone, does he?"

The Sannin looked skyward for a moment. "Reminds me a bit of myself, actually."

It was the Hokage's turn to laugh. "You flatter yourself, Jiraiya."

"You gonna fast-track him through ANBU like you did that Uchiha kid?"

"No," Sarutobi said resolutely. "I think I may have a better idea, and I'd really rather see what he does with himself for the next few years. He has a… different way of looking at things, and I'd rather not quash that. But you had something else to discuss with me."

_Definitely not a request,_ Jiraiya thought dryly. _He's got a soft spot for the brat._ "Yes, I did. Several things, actually, but two that are fairly pressing."

"Okay then, if you're going to be yammering for a while, I'm going to sit down." And the Hokage found a nice rock with a bit of moss on it, and did just that. When he saw Jiraiya's smirk, he scowled. "Don't give me that, I'm old."

Jiraiya shrugged and picked his own rock, and when they both pulled out their pipes, he took on a worried expression. "Sometimes I think I'm turning into you, sensei."

Sarutobi scoffed. "Nonsense, you're much too perverted for that. Not nearly bright enough, either."

With a formidable glower, Jiraiya decided to get on with it. "The first bit of news has to do with that business with the Beast Realm that we _thought_ had resolved itself years ago. I'm not positive that it's part of whatever was going on then, but my contacts in Stone and Mist have told me that the clans holding the summoning contracts—for the tigers and geckos, respectively—are being locked out."

Sarutobi gaped. "_What?_"

"That was my reaction," Jiraiya said wryly. "It's not to say that those already on the contract can't summon, but it seems either that the contracts are full, or else whoever held them died. They can't renew them."

The Hokage frowned. "What have the toads told you about this?"

"They're being pretty hush-hush about the whole thing. I haven't been able to get a straight answer out of them, but it sounds like they think that…well… we're not holding up our end of the bargain."

"I… I will try to speak to Enma about this. I haven't summoned an ape in… oh gods, it's been years." The Sandaime looked up at his student worriedly. "This is very troubling. I hope you have some good news as well."

"Ah, that all depends," Jiraiya said, rubbing the back of his head. "I've been _very_ tentatively approaching Iwa, and it sounds like they might actually be open to Konoha participating in the Chuunin Exams being held there next year. You might even be able to start sending ambassadors _over_ the table for a change, without worrying about getting their heads sent back to you in a box." Sarutobi let out a speculative grunt, and Jiraiya continued, his voice taking on an almost giddy tone. "Even more tentatively, I think I may have managed to coerce a certain someone into jumping the Iwa ship in favor of Konoha. Do you remember?"

Sarutobi frowned, wishing Jiraiya didn't enjoy keeping and doling out secrets so much. Then his eyes widened. "Do you mean the go—"

"Gah!" Jiraiya jumped, slapping a hand over the Hokage's mouth. The older man glared stonily at his student, and Jiraiya carefully withdrew his hand and wiped it on his pants. "Sorry, old man. Just…don't talk about it out loud. People kill for this kind of information in a surprisingly wide range of places."

"We're on top of a god-damned mountain, Jiraiya."

"Well, let's just keep this quiet until she gets here. I think she intends to visit."

"And how much do you personally have to do with that?" asked the Hokage with a lecherous grin.

"Well, you know me," Jiraiya began, waggling his eyebrows. Then his face drooped as he gave it up. "Actually, not as much as I'd like."

Sarutobi patted his student's shoulder consolingly. "So what's her name and when can we expect her?"

"Yamanoue Rumbakore," Jiraiya answered wistfully. "And we can expect her within the month."

"That is good news," Sarutobi declared. "What else have you got?"

"Well you know, with all the _research _I've been doing, I decided to write a book…"

ooo

"Why the—argh—_hell _are we doing this, again?"

"Because oji-san said there's a waterfall up there, and I've never—oof—seen one before!"

Naruto, Kiba, and Kiba's mom's dog, Kuromaru, were clambering up the middle of a rocky creek. The sun was pounding down on their necks, which made the splashing water something of a relief. The problem was, the creek ran a steep course, and it was choked with creeping maple and fallen logs and boulders that were too big to cross and pines that sagged drunkenly over the whole scene as if they were going to give up the ghost any minute. All of which made for rough going, even if it hadn't been nearly impossible to see the slippery rocks over which they clambered.

This was fine with Naruto of course, who enjoyed finding the most difficult things to do that he possibly could, and Kiba was right along with him. No, it was the big wolf-dog with the eye-patch who wouldn't shut up.

"Damn brats," the wolf growled in a deep voice, trying to keep up with the two kids as they clambered further up the creek. "You are not getting _any _of my pups, Kiba."

"Hey, it was Naruto's idea!"

"And you went along with it, and I have to follow you. If I have to give one of my own flesh and blood over to you, I might as well give _him_ one too."

"He's not an Inuzuka!" Kiba whined traitorously.

"Might as well be; you two act practically the same," the big dog countered with a canine grin, obviously enjoying tormenting the little boy.

"Do not!" Naruto finally chimed in, hopping over a log with a tremendous splash. "I'm _way_ smarter." He grinned in Kiba's direction, wondering if the other boy would take the bait.

Of course Kiba did, letting out a bellow of mock fury, and the two raced onward with renewed vigor, leaving the wolf-dog's complaints behind.

They didn't make it to the fabled waterfall that day—Kiba got tired out, and Naruto had long grown bored with the journey. It was pure stubbornness that had continued to fuel him, and he promised to himself that he would achieve that goal another day.

Kuromaru carried the two boys back—straight through the woods this time, and vowing never to step foot in another creek as long as he lived—and they were met at the Inuzuka compound with a warm familiarity that made Naruto's chest ache.

The buildings were all built of timber, with stonework that looked to be done by giants, nestled among the towering pines as if they had always been there. The vaulted ceilings, with massive log rafters, and great stone fireplaces and thick woven rugs were all saturated with the scent of smoke and cooking food and… well, happiness, if there was a scent for that. The day was warm, and all of the clan members were gathering for dinner in the open staging area in the center of the compound, a great stone slab beneath a high roof that was supported by log columns. Children ran all around, chased by puppies, while older shinobi and their mature canine partners lounged in the shade.

When Kuromaru arrived with Naruto and Kiba riding double on his back, Kiba hopped off excitedly and raced ahead, to be swept up in his father's big arms, before being passed off to his mother for a swing-around.

Naruto didn't move—almost _couldn't_—and unconsciously took a firmer grip on Kuromaru's steel-gray fur.

The big wolf-dog looked back at him, and the yellow eye that wasn't covered in a patch seemed almost kind in its regard. "You all right, kid?" he asked softly.

Naruto blinked and nodded before carefully sliding from the dog's back. He couldn't say really what was bothering him. Just that… it wasn't fair that _this _existed, and yet he would go home to his empty apartment again, just like he always had, and probably always would. He rubbed his chest, wondering why the thought made it hard to breathe. It wasn't as if he'd ever known anything different. "I gotta go," he said. Then, impulsively, he hugged the big wolf around the neck, little arms barely reaching halfway around the thick scruff. "Thanks for coming with us, Kuromaru."

"It was my pleasure, otouto," the wolf replied, and Naruto quietly slipped away. Grumbling to himself, the wolf sat on his haunches and watched his retreating form with perked ears until long after he'd disappeared.

Ooo

He was nearly home, and the sun was dropping below the smoky rooftops of Konoha, when he heard several voices laughing boisterously. Normally not one to feel sorry for himself, this only made Naruto bitterly aware that they were _them_, and he was just _him_, and he was getting tired of having his face shoved in his own solitude.

But his ears perked up when he heard a different voice, and this one was crying. It didn't take long for him to realize that the laughing voices and the crying voice were coming from the same place. All thoughts of self-pity were forgotten as Naruto took to the rooftops in two quick jumps.

They were three buildings over, in a little fenced in play area (the sort which Naruto often got thrown out of, incidentally)—three boys and a girl. One of the boys was gesticulating wildly, while the other two laughed, and the girl was sobbing hard. Naruto couldn't tell what the boy was saying, but he could hear the girl pleading for him to stop, and that was enough. His temper rose, and he sped up, dropping to the ground and crossing the space of the enclosure in a blink.

"Hey!" he shouted, jumping in front of the girl to face the three boys. "What are you doing to her?"

"N-nothing! It's none of your business!" the first boy insisted, recovering from his surprise.

"We were just joking around, anyway," spoke up another.

Naruto eyed them all ferociously, before looking back at the girl. She had strange pink hair done up in pigtails and big green-blue eyes. They were red and full of tears, and her cheeks were wet too. Her lip was trembling terribly, and she looked as if she thought Naruto was going to join in with the other boys.

"What did they say?" he asked her, and she blinked.

"Um, they—they said… they were making fun of my, um, my forehead. They said it was _huge_, and they wouldn't stop laughing at me!" The admission made her break down again, as if she couldn't understand why they were so mean when all she wanted them to do was leave her alone.

Naruto rounded on the boys, shouting, "I'm gonna beat all of you up!"

"What the heck," said the oldest boy. "Why do you even care, you weird little kid? Get out of here before you really make me mad!"

Naruto took a menacing step forward. "_I'm_ the one who's mad!"

"Three against one, dummy, what do you think you're gonna do?" snorted another boy.

"Beat you _up_!" Naruto shouted with all the power in his six-year-old lungs, and sprang forward. People had always been mean to him for no apparent reason, ever since he could remember. He didn't know why—he could only assume he'd done something to deserve it. But he _knew_ the pink haired girl didn't deserve it; he _knew_ they were being mean just because they wanted to. And that made him very, very angry.

He'd never thrown a punch in his life, but if anybody deserved his first test-run, it was these three.

He hit the oldest kid in the chest, grabbing his shirt with two fists and tackling him to the ground. He swung back—he knew that he couldn't do very much damage, but that didn't stop him from trying—and hit the boy as hard as he could in the jaw. The other two tried to grab him, and he kicked one and elbowed the other, throwing them off before scoring two more hits on the first boy.

And then a familiar sound hit his ears—a girl's voice crying 'stop!' over and over. He looked back, and saw the pink haired girl, and she was yelling at _him_ this time. Dazedly, he lowered his fist, and stared down at the boy he'd been pummeling. The other two had fallen back, unwilling to get in his range again, even to help their friend.

"Get off me," the older boy hissed, pride wounded, and pushed Naruto to the ground. Sullenly, he picked himself up and walked off, glancing over his shoulder, and the other two boys followed him.

Naruto stood from where he'd landed, feeling ashamed but vindicated at the same time, and looked at the girl. "Sorry," he said, scuffing one foot.

She sniffled, and smiled through her tears. "S'okay. Thanks… for sticking up for me. I didn't even know them…"

"They were really mean!" Naruto said emphatically, glaring in the direction they'd gone.

"Yeah," the girl agreed, watching him with an odd mixture of hope and apprehension.

Naruto scratched the back of his head self-consciously, and then pointed at her strangely colored hair. "Are you new here? I mean, I think I would remember you."

She nodded, pig-tails swinging. "We just moved here a couple days ago. My—my mom is gonna teach at the school."

Naruto felt a welling of sympathy for her. "I had to move here last year, and I didn't know anybody at first either," he admitted. "I was really scared to be… alone, but the people near me are way nicer than where I used to live. So… don't worry. You'll prolly make lots of friends," he finished lamely.

"Like you?" she asked, and immediately blushed. But she didn't look away.

Naruto felt his heart skip a beat. No one had ever asked to be his friend. Not even Kiba—Naruto had been the one to ask first. "Uh, yeah, if you want me to be…"

She stuck a braid in her mouth, twisting away shyly. "I'm Sakura," she told him, before running excitedly back toward the buildings.

"I'm—! I'm Naruto," he finished quietly, watching the doors swing closed. With a warm feeling in his heart, he turned and continued on his way.

ooo

Yamanoue Rumbakore—a tall woman by anyone's estimation, with brown skin and a head of copious white dreadlocks—was glad to finally be out of the high mountains and crossing into the mighty forests of the Fire country. Not that she had anything particularly to worry about—yet—since officially she was only paying a visit to the capitol. Unofficially, however, where she was going and what she was planning to do would earn her, at best, a swift separation from her own head. Or body, she revised with a squint, depending on where her point of view resided when she died.

Frowning, she banished that ridiculous train of thought, before grinning in a decidedly smug way—an expression only exacerbated by the patch over her right eye. _Well, they will _try.

No, Rumbakore was glad to be in the deep forests because she could now, finally, summon quicker transportation. She still had a ridiculous span of country to cross. _And I'll be damned if I have to run the whole way_.

Tree hopping was out of the question. She remembered vividly the last time she'd tried _that_ little exercise, and grimaced in embarrassment.

Maybe more importantly, it was already the first of October, and she knew that Konoha had a big festival coming up on the tenth, to celebrate the seventh anniversary of the vanquishing of the Kyuubi, and she didn't want to miss it.

Her powerful voice rang out through the trees. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!" There was a mighty rumble, and then a short, trumpeting blast that startled every bird in the vicinity to flight.

Ooo

The day was calm—stifling almost, as if the world was too hot to even breathe. It was the eighth of October, and anyone might have guessed that it was still the dead of summer. But even ridiculous weather could not keep the villagers down—the Festival was fast approaching, and signs of it were appearing all over Konoha.

There were lanterns in the streets, and great silken flags of gold and red flying from every roof. Ribbons and streamers were tied to everything, from the richest clan architecture to the meanest rice cart. Bakeries were hard at work creating fox-shaped confections for children to eat, fox-shaped balloons were being purchased to pop, fox-headed torches were set up around booths and games, and a massive fox statue made of whicker and kindling-wood, papered over in red, was being erected in the large square just inside the village gates. At the end of the night, the statue would be burned in a roaring inferno that could be seen from hundreds of miles away. All of this was done in the spirit of making light of the demon fox who had devastated the village almost seven years ago—it was defiance, and a reminder that, in the end, they had won.

To Naruto, it meant being locked away, hidden, for a night, while drunken revelers shouted outside, and ANBU circled like wary panthers, and he would barely be let out to pee. He always wondered what he had done wrong to deserve such punishment—no one would ever explain it to him, not even oji-san, and Naruto always cried his eyes out. Why did he have to be punished while everyone else was out having fun and celebrating?

But that was _then_—he'd been stuck in the orphanage, and there had been rules that could be broken. Now he was living by himself, _he _made the rules, and as far as he knew, he hadn't broken any. This year, he was going to have fun just like everybody else; just let them try and lock him up!

But first things first—he had important business at the Hokage tower, and he was steaming mad. He showed up there so often that no one made more than half-hearted attempts to stop him, and he made it all the way to the old man's outer offices without being harangued.

"Oji-san!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, ignoring the secretary who tried to make shushing motions. He pushed open one of the big double doors and stormed in, too worked up to notice who was in the room. "Oji-san, why won't—!" His mouth clicked shut

The Hokage was frowning powerfully at him, and his two guests turned in their seats. One was an ANBU agent with a spring of wild silver hair that put Naruto's to shame. The other was… "Yo, brat!" Jiraiya said with a wave.

"Eh?" Naruto uttered, pointing at him. "What… what are you doing here?"

Jiraiya pointed a thumb at the Hokage. "I work for him. What are _you_ doing here?"

But Naruto was too excited to pay much attention to the question. "Jiraiya-sensei, you _have _to see all the new tricks I learned! You've been gone, so I started asked other ninja who stopped at Ichiraku's to show me stuff, and—"

"Wait a minute," interrupted the silver haired ANBU. "Jiraiya-_sensei_?"

The big Sannin looked affronted. "And a very good one, at that. Isn't that right, kid?"

Naruto nodded, grinning, and the ANBU smacked his palm to his forehead.

"Naruto," the Hokage finally broke in sternly. "As you can see, I am in the middle of a meeting. Is there something I can do for you that can't wait until we're done?"

"Yeah," Naruto said, finally remembering why he had come all this way in such a foul mood. "You have to tell that stupid guy who runs the weapon place that he has to sell stuff to me! He said no, that I have to get… that I have to get… parental permission." It was hard to get that last part out. It was weird saying anything that had to do with 'parents'. And Naruto wasn't stupid; he knew it wasn't about whether that was a real rule or not. It was about the fact that he didn't _have _parents, and the shopkeeper knew it. The sneer on the man's face couldn't have made it any more obvious.

Apparently this was also going through the Hokage's mind, because his expression softened into quiet sadness. "Naruto, why do you want to buy ninja weapons?"

"Because," Naruto began, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "I need them if I'm gonna be a ninja."

The room went still. The two guests both looked at him with surprise, but the Hokage, if anything, looked even sadder than before. Then an odd look of resignation seeped in, and a tiny smile appeared. "Do you know what a ninja is, Naruto?"

Naruto nodded. "It's someone who protects people."

The Hokage exchanged a look with each of his guests. After a long moment, the old man nodded, and Naruto felt his heart leap in his chest. "Very well," the Hokage said. "When you're _old_ enough, I will allow you to enroll in the Ninja Academy. But—" Naruto paused in his celebratory dance. "I cannot condone your purchase of weapons."

Naruto's jaw dropped, and he felt betrayed.

"Naruto," the Hokage said tiredly, feeling the barb from the boy's hurt expression. "You are six years—"

"Almost seven!"

"Okay, _seven_ years old. Most parents would not let their children cut vegetables at your age. I'm not about to let you go running around with kunai and shuriken and gods know what else—not until you've had proper instruction. And that will not happen until you enter school."

"But—" Naruto began, tears welling. They both knew that any kids with ninjas for parents would have already begun practicing with the tools of the ninja trade. Kiba went on about it all the time. It just…wasn't fair. He swallowed his disappointment, and turned to walk out the door.

He'd made it out to the main hallway when he heard quiet footsteps, signifying that someone had followed him.

"Naruto," said a calm and quiet voice. It was the silver-haired ANBU, and he put a hand on the little boy's shoulder, crouching next to him.

"What?" Naruto mumbled, trying to dash away evidence of the traitorous tears that had managed to leak out.

"I have a secret for you." The man pulled up his dog-mask, only to reveal another mask that covered his face up to his eyes. One eye was squinted closed, as if the man was winking, but the other was smiling.

Despite himself, Naruto perked up.

"This is something that most ninja won't learn until they're much older, and some never learn it at all. The truth is, the weapon doesn't make the ninja. The ninja makes the weapon."

Naruto frowned at him. _Does he want me to _make_ some kunai…?_

"Everything is a weapon, Naruto."

"…Everything?" The silver-haired ANBU nodded, and Naruto looked around. "So those pencils?"

"Yep."

"That folder?"

"Yep."

"The phone?"

"_Oh _yeah, anything with a cord is gold."

"Wow…" Naruto said, seeing everything in a new light.

"And I'll tell you something else," the ANBU went on. "Your powers of observation are, arguably, _the _most important skills to cultivate. If you start practicing now, you will probably become one of the most skilled and useful ninjas of your generation."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Then why doesn't everybody do that?"

The ANBU snorted. "Shinobi clans put too much emphasis on combat, and combat alone. And I'm not exactly the best person to nay-say combat, since it's kind of what I'm known for."

"Well…"

As if sensing the yellow-haired boy's doubts, the ANBU held up a finger. "A person who doesn't pay attention and take in the details of a room might be able to handle five enemies at once just fine. But he will get killed every time by the one he didn't account for. A person who didn't look for all the exits will get cornered and overwhelmed. A person who doesn't look for pertinent information will miss his mark. A person who isn't aware of what's going on might slip up when he's being observed. He might miss an important clue, or not notice he's surrounded, or reach for a weapon and find nothing useful in reach."

"Woah…"

"Like I said. If you learn this stuff now, Naruto, you'll be a shark in a tank full of guppies."

Naruto hesitated. "Will you teach me?"

The ANBU's eye smiled again. "I've been out of the village for quite a while, and I might have to leave again soon. But…when I can, I'll give you assignments, okay?"

Naruto's grin lit up his whole face. "Thank you!—uhm…"

The ANBU's smile seemed to falter, and his eye looked haunted for a moment. He pointed at the porcelain mask sitting atop his hair. "Just Dog, for now. And… you're welcome, Naruto."

Ooo

"Sakuraa!" Naruto called, pounding on the front door again. "Hurry up, Sakura-chan, we're gonna be la—" He broke off, nearly swallowing his tongue when it was Sakura's mother who answered the door. "Ha—Haruno-san… can Sakura come play?"

"Hello… um, Naruto." He could see the hesitation on her face, and wondered if people had been talking about him again. It was almost his birthday, and people always seemed to get meaner around his birthday. His heart rose in his throat as he wondered if she would actually say no. But she smiled at him, finally, and said, "Yes she can, but I want her home in time for lunch, do you hear? That's two hours, okay?"

Naruto gave an emphatic nod. "Okay! Thanks, Haruno-san!"

"Sakura!" the older woman called back into the house, before smiling back down at Naruto. "She's getting ready. So what are you kids doing today?"

"Oh, you know," Naruto began evasively, but was distracted as his pink-haired friend appeared at the door. "Got the stuff?" he asked excitedly.

"Yup, let's go!" she responded, barely slowing down to grab him by the arm.

"Two hours!" Sakura's mom called after them, and shook her head.

They pelted down the road toward the ninja academy. Normally classes didn't get out until later in the day, but since tomorrow was the big Festival, they were getting out early. Normally Naruto wouldn't care one way or the other when the older kids got out of class, but he'd found out that in _this_ particular grade, three of the students were very familiar to both him and Sakura.

"Hurry hurry hurry," Naruto chanted, as the pink-haired girl tried to keep up. "We're meeting Kiba around the side."

"You're too fast," she huffed, paper bag in hand and pig-tails flying.

"You're too _slow_," he laughed, which had the desired effect. She gritted her teeth and sped up, grabbing him by the shoulder and darting ahead.

Over the past couple weeks, Sakura had joined Naruto and Kiba on their daily adventures, and she still wasn't quite used to keeping up the pace. Not that she didn't earn her share of scrapes and bruises from whatever scheme they all cooked up—which sent her mother into a frenzy that first day until her daughter explained—she just needed some time to build up her stamina.

Today…well, today was payback, and Sakura herself had conceived the plan. There wasn't quite enough mayhem or explosions for Naruto's taste, but it was respectable for a sophomoric effort.

The day was so hot that the pavement rippled in the sun, and they were both panting by the time they met Kiba, who was standing in the shade of the building along with Kuromaru and Haimaru (who belonged to Kiba's sister Hana). The two dogs had their tongues lolling, and Kiba himself didn't look much better.

"Have they come out yet?" Naruto asked by way of greeting, and the other boy shook his head. "Okay, let's go over the plan one more time. Kiba?"

"Distraction. Me and the dogs'll pin them down somehow—"

"Nothing crazy, we don't want them to suspect—"

"Aw, fine."

Naruto nodded, wiping his brow. "Okay, so I'll swoop in and chakra the crap out of their hair, and then Sakura?"

She nodded, grinning. "I'll be ready with the glue!" She pulled two jars of the stuff out of her bag with a flourish.

"Where are you dropping from?" Naruto asked.

She pointed upward. "The roof over the entrance. So Kiba, I'll need a signal for when they're in position."

Kiba gave a sharp nod. "Got it."

"Okay, then," Naruto rubbed his hands together in a diabolical way. "Then I'll be waiting in the wings to direct the glue toward my chakra signature in their hair. Bahaha, it's genius, Sakura-chan!"

They all chuckled malevolently in the shadow of the building until the school bell rang—the signal to break into action. Sakura was propelled onto the roof, courtesy of Kiba and Naruto, and Kiba moved with the two dogs to the front of the school, while Naruto waited around the side. It wouldn't do to have the boys spot him.

Students flooded out of the double doors, and it wasn't long before the three boys appeared, talking amongst themselves and laughing. Naruto was smugly pleased to see the yellowing bruise on the oldest boy's jaw.

Kiba went into action, blocking the three just beneath the awning of the entryway, and beginning to talk while the two big dogs sat down like immovable statues. That was Naruto's cue, and he zipped around the corner of the building. They never saw him coming, and as he bounced past, he tapped each boy on the head. By the time they'd turned around to see who'd hit them, Naruto was already hidden behind a bush.

"Now!" Kiba shouted, and Naruto squinted up to see Sakura madly unscrewing a jar. Sensing something was up, the three boys tried to make a run for it, dodging around the dogs just as Sakura tipped the jar over the side.

Naruto leapt out into the open, teeth gritting as he focused his chakra on the long, goopy rope of glue. _Stick!_ The glue twisted weirdly in mid air as its trajectory toward the ground was warped, and it split three ways. With a grunt, Naruto forced it toward the boys, and latched on to his own chakra signature in their hair.

Three yowls filled the air as the sticky paste hit home, and the three pranksters and two dogs took off—Kuromaru catching Sakura from the roof—laughing madly all the way.

They stopped back at Sakura's house to beg her mom for the rest of the day so that they could celebrate, and after securing her permission, scampered off to the town gates for a round of Ichiraku Ramen.

"Itadakimasu!" Naruto shouted.

"To Sakura's first prank!" Kiba added. "The next time we see those jerks, they'll be stinkin _bald--"_

"And then we'll see who has a _huge_ forehead," Naruto finished, cackling.

Sakura just blushed and grinned, and they all dug in.

Ooo

On the way home that evening, after saying good-bye to Kiba and Sakura, Naruto decided that he was very very happy. Probably happier than he had ever been. The only thing that could have made the evening better would be if tomorrow, people remembered that it was his birthday, and not just a festival. Maybe they would, this year. Maybe if he was really good, and didn't do anything to get in trouble, he would be able to go to the festival, and maybe he would even get a present. Maybe oji-san would take the day off. Maybe Jiraiya-sensei would be there. He sighed contentedly, and kicked a can along the deserted street.

When he looked up again, there was a shadowed figure a little further up the street. Naruto couldn't tell what he was doing—he seemed to be just walking along, in Naruto's direction.

He didn't think much of it; this street was usually pretty empty, but that didn't mean that there weren't sometimes other people out and about at night.

He kicked his can along, wishing he didn't have to go that way, and looked up again. The figure was gone.

Trying to shrug it off, Naruto abandoned his can and walked a little faster. He told himself he was tired of kicking it, but the honest part of him said it would be a good idea to be able to hear better.

Just as he was relaxing, the figure reappeared from the deeper shadow of a building, and this time there were three of them.

Every nerve in Naruto's little body went on high alert, and he stopped. Swallowing his pride, he decided that, stupid or not, he was going to go home a different way. He turned around to do just that—only to find another figure walking up the street from where he'd come.

His heart began to pound. It was irrational fear, surely, but suddenly he was positive that he was in very real trouble.

Before he could decide what to do, the lone figure broke into a jog, and then a full-on sprint, and Naruto was so paralyzed with fear that he couldn't move.

And then he stiffened—there was a hot, pinching sensation in his ribs, following by spreading numbness. He tried to shout, to speak, but his strength was evaporating and his breath wouldn't come. He dropped to his knees, and to his surprise, he landed in something wet and warm.

Hot breath hit his cheek, and a voice from behind sneered, "Happy birthday, demon-brat." Four figures closed in around him, and he fell. He tried to move his arms, to shout for help, but his limbs only twitched, and his voice only gasped. Blackness closed in around his vision as he went cold, and then there was nothing.

ooo

ooo

**A/N: **Hey guys! Thanks to everybody who's commented, faved, or put me on alert, I really appreciate it! Truth be told, comments are like what I live for, so if you even just want to say 'Hey, I like chicken! You should add that!' I will love it, and I will love you. Hopefully you will be more inspired than that, but ya know. Anywhoo, as you maybe noticed, shit is about to hit the proverbial fan. Whooo! So yeah, what do you guys think so far? Characters in-character? Plot weaving like a persian rug? Hopefully so. Stay tuned for more exciting stuff!


	4. Demon

**A/N:** Warning; there is some language and graphic violence in this chapter.

Ooo Chapter 4 : Demon ooO

"Hokage-sama!"

The Hokage looked up from his desk, one hand massaging a temple, and asked tiredly. "What?"

Itachi dropped to the carpet and took off his mask. "Naruto is missing."

The Hokage frowned. "What do you mean?"

"He has not returned to his apartment."

"I don't see… weren't you tailing him today?"

The ANBU looked distinctly embarrassed, gritting his jaw in an unusual display of emotion. "I was called away to discuss a… family matter. He was in the company of two friends, and I did not think—"

"How long ago was this?" Sarutobi interrupted sharply.

"Eight in the evening, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi's eyes darted to the oft-ignored clock on his wall. "That was… six hours ago." His steely gaze shifted back to his agent. "You have only just become aware of this?"

"Yes," Itachi responded, gritting his teeth again and looking down. "My family…" he trailed off with a long-suffering sigh.

Sarutobi stared at the young man, and wondered if he could trust him. Would he lie? Did he wish harm on the little boy? The old man looked away and gripped the arm of his chair. _Naruto…_ "Kakashi!"

The silver-haired ANBU appeared silently at the window. "Hokage-sama?"

Sarutobi met his gaze. "Get Jiraiya. Alert the head office, get every free agent down here now." The man disappeared in a blink, and the Hokage turned to Itachi. "Contact the Haruno house and the Inuzuka estate—find out if he's staying at one of those places, and whether they've seen him since eight."

"Hokage-sama, I—"

"You can explain your actions later—go!"

The ANBU departed with barely a whisper, and Sarutobi sagged back in his chair. He was too old—he'd outlived too many people he loved. _I cannot bury another… Gods, Naruto. I will not bury you. Not you. _

Ooo

**Goddammit, you're such a waste of skin…**

Naruto twitched. Something grit against his cheek. As he slowly became aware, every ache and pain announced itself—his ribs were on fire, his head was pounding, and his shoulders felt like they were being pulled from their sockets. He tried to move his hands, but he had so little strength that he could only assume they were tied behind him. It was dark—so dark that he wasn't sure at first whether his eyes were open or closed. And cold. And damp. He couldn't hear anything except the sound of his own breathing.

A cloth fluttered against his mouth every time he inhaled, and all at once he felt… closed in. Confined in a way that lit his veins on fire and set his pulse racing. He had to get out.

Thump. Thump. Thump. His heartbeat was a cacophony in his ears, and yet he couldn't even lift his head. He whimpered—or tried to, but it never reached beyond his own mind.

**Is that really the best you can do?**

Whenever he became especially angry or disgusted with himself, his inner thoughts took on a grim, rumbling cast. All the better to criticize himself, he guessed. His anti-self, he called it. Maybe his self-loathing was more powerful than his normal self at these times—whatever the reason, his _other_ voice was so deep it made his teeth rattle.

**You're barely even trying, idiot**.

Naruto could only agree—it would be pointless to argue with himself.

Gritting his teeth, and breathing in short bursts through his nose, he finally managed to arch his back and roll onto his stomach. Dirt, damp and metallic smelling, ground against his chin.

He managed to grasp the cloth in his teeth, trying to rip it down or pull it off. It brushed against the top of his hair, and he realized that it wasn't a mask—it was a cloth sack.

The voice in the back of his mind gave a disgusted sigh. **The things people come up with…**

_Hands first then_, he thought, trying to stay calm. He strained his arms—they were so cold and clammy that he could barely feel anything—and felt for the loose ends of his restraints. There—he pulled on an end, and felt a loop give. He briefly wondered why they weren't tied more securely, but he certainly wasn't complaining.

His breath came shorter and shorter as he shrugged out of them and rolled onto his side with a painful moan. His arms must have been held in that position for hours.

His back bumped up against something, and he froze. It felt like more dirt. With a creeping dread, Naruto began frantically feeling around.

Dirt below.

Dirt to his back.

Dirt by his feet.

Dirt by his head.

He finally uttered a sound—a strangled cry that did not echo at all. He was in a hole.

His flailing arm hit something directly overhead—it was smooth and cool, and very hard. Stone.

_Oh gods!_ He finally grasped for the sack over his head and clawed it off—it didn't make any difference at all, except that he could now feel cool, damp air against his face. His panting breath came even shorter, and wild panic threatened to overwhelm him.

**Keep it together, idiot, or you're never getting out of here.**

_Shut _up_!_ he told himself, pounding both fists into the dirt floor. He couldn't even sit up—the stone above was too close.

He braced both hands against it, ignoring the flare of pain in his ribs, and pushed. The blood ran to his head and he saw stars, but the stone didn't budge. He tried the same thing with his feet, curling up so that his knees almost touched his chin, and strained with all his might. He tried to get on his hands and knees and lift the stone with his back. He pounded the stone with his fists, and bits flaked off. He kicked at the stone, he clawed around the edges, he tried kicking out the sides of the hole, he tried digging with his nails, and thrashed and railed and pounded against the stone until his hands bled.

And then he screamed. Long and hard until his throat was hoarse and he couldn't even feel the tears leaking out the sides of his eyes. And he cried like he'd never cried before, because he didn't even have anyone to cry out _to_. No one was looking for him; no one would come. No one would even care.

He was alone, and terribly, terribly afraid.

**Ugh,** rumbled his other voice. **Shut **_**up**_**. You need to use your head.**

_But what the hell do you think you can do, Naruto?!_

**First make some light. You'll feel better if you can see.**

_And you'll use up the rest of your air!_ Naruto argued with himself, having learned at thing or two about fire.

**Use chakra, idiot. That doesn't run on oxygen.**

Sniffling, Naruto realized his other voice had a point. He dashed a dirty hand across his face, and held up his palm. Frowning, he had to focus harder than usual to call up a bit of chakra, but the tiny glow that came to life could have been the dawning sun. He could _see_.

He twisted around, and it was as he'd feared. The hole was a little bigger than he thought it would be, but not by much.

_Very helpful._ He thought acidly. _Now you know for _sure_ that this is your grave._

**It's not a grave.**

_How the hell do you know?!_ He waited, and then amended, _or I guess, how do _I _know?_

To that end, he looked around more carefully. His subconscious must have picked up something he hadn't considered. Shifting, he became aware again of the wet dirt underneath him, and propped himself up on one elbow to get a good look at it.

It was dark and gleaming, and it sort of reminded him of… _Blood._

_**Your **_**blood.**

_Mine? How…?_ And then he noticed his shirt, and shorts, and all down his leg—they were dark and slick with the stuff. His ears began ringing and his head felt like it was floating away. _Where did all of this come from?_

**You were stabbed in the lung, stupid brat. You weren't paying attention.**

_That's right… you looked away from those three... _He frowned. _But if they thought you were dead, then why'd they tie you up and put a bag over your head?_

**Because they didn't think you were dead.**

_Why not? Why are you not dead?!_

**Think about that later. Right now you need to get out of here before you really do use up all your air. Or they come back and finish what they started.**

_What… what are they waiting for?_

**Probably the end of the festival, so they can get you out of the village and dump you down a **_**real**_** hole. And you'll **_**deserve **_**it if you don't get moving.**

_Okay, think Naruto. How are you going to get out of this?_ His little ball of glowing chakra was still softly illuminating the hole. His other voice was offering nothing, and he bit his lip, trying to slow his racing heart. _This is impossible. You know it's impossible. You're gonna die down here like a shriveled up little mouse that got stuck in a coffee can. THINK!_

**Jeez… what can you use that a mouse can't?**

_Anything that requires thumbs?_

**Idiot! Now is not the **_**time **_**for retarded jokes!**

Naruto stared at the pulsating ball of light in his hand, frowning in thought. _What could it possibly be? What would… _His eyes widened.

**You **_**are**_** the biggest idiot there ever was.**

Ooo

Two men and a woman sat around an overturned crate, playing cards. Smoke drifted up over their bastardized table, curling around the naked light bulb that threw sharp shadows across the room, and dissipating up into the cobwebbed rafters. Passages stretched away in three directions from the dirty room, but none were lit. The only thing the darkness held was the low whistling of moving air.

Another man leaned against a half-rotten support beam, nervously picking a fingernail with a kunai, and glancing up every once in a while toward one of the dim passageways—the one with a long, dribbling trail of what might have been black paint stretching off into the darkness.

A pair of footsteps could be heard approaching from the opposite direction, and every face in the room glanced up. The heavy, grinding steps belonged to a fifth man, dressed in a long coat and dripping wet.

"Raining?" asked the man leaning against the wooden support. A faint rumble seemed to answer his question.

"Yeah," the newcomer—leader of the group—answered anyway. "Fuckin' wonderful weather to skin a fox."

The rest of the assembled laughed briefly at that.

"Guys," said the leaning man, looking squirrelly again. "I think we should get this over with. I don't think we should wait. I mean who knows who could come lookin—"

"No one's lookin," scoffed the woman, throwing down a card. The thunder rumbled again.

"Boy, it's really going at it out there," muttered one of the card players.

The first man shrugged out of his wet jacket. "What?"

"You know, the thunder and lightning," the man replied, waving a hand.

"S'no lightning out there."

"Then what's that… sound?"

They all heard it, then, as they fell silent. A deep, booming thud. It was very quiet, and for a second they all thought they'd been imagining it. But then it came again, and a few bits of debris fell from the rafters.

"Shit," said the first man, crossing the room quickly. "Shit, shit shit."

Everyone rushed to their feet, grabbing weapons, and the nervous man moaned, "Oh gods, it's the demon—it's the fucking demon, it's getting out!"

"It's not getting out!" said the woman, but her voice was shrill.

"It's gonna get out, and bury us in this place!"

"Come on!" bellowed the first man as more debris rained down around them. "Payoff or no, that little prick is dying tonight."

They hurried into the darkness.

Ooo

_BOOM._

He'd found a crack.

_BOOM._

Maybe he'd made the crack.

_BOOM._

The whole world was falling to pieces and raining down around him, and he wasn't sure anymore.

_BOOM._

He was on fire. His arms were on fire, his chest was on fire, his eyes were on fire. He couldn't see at all, except for each flash of raging light as he smashed his fists again and again into the yielding stone.

_BOOM._

He was getting out.

_BOOM._

He was getting out.

_BOOM!_

_Let me… OUT!_

And suddenly the massive chunks of rock exploded upwards, splintering all the way through and caving below. He grunted as two mighty slabs hit his chest, but he wasn't about to let a crushed lung or two stop him. Snarling, he heaved with both arms, and the massive weight lifted, little by little.

_God…DAMMIT!_ With a flare of chakra that sent a palpable thud outwards, the rocks shot away, hitting a distant ceiling and ripping through crisscrossing support beams.

Panting, Naruto drug himself to his feet, and bits of stone slid off of him. He crawled up, over the splintered chunks, and out of the hole, ignoring his bloody hands and his dripping chest.

It was dark, and the dust hanging in the air made it even more difficult to see. But it was better than a hole, any day of the week. _What… what is this?_

**It's… a tomb. A clan's burial vaults. How ironic. They dug you a hole rather than put you in one of their precious crypts.**

_Why? Why did they do this? _What had he done to deserve being… stabbed, and then tied up and tossed in a hole… buried alive? _Maybe people don't like me, fine! You don't have to like everybody! But I don't… I never did anything… Why do things always happen to _me?! _Why is this okay?! Why? Why? _"WHY?!"

He heard footsteps, and shouting voices, and he whirled as they came into view. "Why did you_ do this to me_?!"

"Shit—!"

"Oh gods, it's out!"

"Get it!"

The boy let loose a heartrending cry of rage and anguish. "Just tell me _WHY!!"_

But his attackers weren't interested in explaining. "We need to finish it off, _now_!" shouted the leader, and they fanned out. A deadly hail of shuriken buzzed through the air, and Naruto dropped.

It wasn't good enough, though—countless blades sliced hot lines across his back, and he bit down on his cheek. _Everything's a weapon, _he heard Dog's voice saying again. He jerked up, five of the throwing stars in hand, and flung them out.

Three of the attackers ducked, while another pulled a sword and charged.

Naruto grabbed a handful of rocks and threw them up in the man's face as he bore down, before aiming a ramming kick at the man's knee.

With a shot of chakra, his little foot impacted the joint with a crack, and the leg crumpled sideways.

Naruto was already moving as the man went down with a shrill cry. He scooped up a length of splintered wood, and heard the whistle of an incoming projectile. _Kunai!_ He knocked two out of the air with his spinning plank, but a third buried itself deep in his thigh.

He kept moving, pulling it out as he ran, and met the next man's sword slash with the length of wood. The first strike of the blade sunk deep into the board, and Naruto jerked it sideways, pulling the sword with it. With a savage growl, he leapt up and slashed with the kunai, catching the man across the mouth and sending him sprawling.

Two more attackers were already descending on him—a man and a woman. Naruto deflected a strike from a kunai, and ducked under the woman's flashing hands. He stumbled back, flinging up a cloud of dust that reached the man's eyes, but the woman darted through.

Fumbling, Naruto's hand found the sword of the man he'd just taken out, and he whipped it around, forcing the woman to dance back.

As they circled, Naruto's eyes darted, looking for anything to use to his advantage. He noticed bits of stuff falling from the ceiling. _Maybe I can_—

"Give it up, demon," the woman panted. "We've got you surrounded."

_Like hell!_ The man had gotten to his feet, and there was still another one unaccounted for. _Behind…?_

THUNK.

Naruto stumbled forward slightly, and the sword in his fist dropped with a clatter—his right side had exploded with a white-hot, clinching pain that was so intense it made him gag. A wash of blinding heat and then numbing cold—it was familiar, except this time he could see… He looked down, and reached one hand toward the thick metal bolt that was protruding from his shirt. He gave a half turn, stumbling slightly, and saw the last man standing there, a darker shape against the darkness. "You sha—you shot…" Naruto gasped, unable to force enough air out to form the words.

"I shot you," the man said helpfully, and the other two laughed.

Naruto swallowed—his throat was suddenly dry—and looked skyward. He couldn't see it, but he knew the stars were out. He wished he was outside.

**Oh no, kit, we're not going out like this.**

…_We?_ Naruto was confused. He just wanted to feel the breath of wind on his cheek, see the night sky as every star winked into existence. He wanted to go… out.

But the other voice wasn't listening. Something was rumbling in the back of Naruto's mind, and a terrible heat started in the pit of his chest. It spread outward, burning like acid or crude oil, pushing away the numbness and filling every vein with trembling fire and rage.

**I won't let you…DIE!**

The burning, boiling heat slammed out, flashing violently red, and the world trembled and ripped apart. The roof came down, and Naruto watched it all as if it were in slow motion—wooden columns snapped like tinder, bodies were flung away, and the boulders and earth came down, down… And it was a relief, as he was buried in cool, crushing, suffocating, earth, because the fire went out.

He wept in the dark, and his tears didn't evaporate any more, and he thought maybe he could feel the brush of wind in his hair. And maybe he could hear a voice—more than one voice. And… maybe they were shouting his name.

Ooo


	5. Honored Stranger

Ooo Chapter 5 : Honored Stranger ooO

Ooo

Yamanoue Rumbakore hadn't known quite what to expect when she arrived in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, but controlled chaos had certainly not been at the top of that list.

No, when she approached the Hokage's office, having arrived quite late in the night in the pouring rain, she had only expected to sign in with the overly snippy administrator, wash off the thick coat of road dust, and crawl into bed before she fell asleep on her feet.

Instead she had found a room full—_very _full—of extremely agitated shinobi, and one old man who was positively oozing with murderous intent.

Her entrance was acknowledged with a perfunctory glance, and only then by about a quarter of the assembled. All she had been able to gather was that one 'Naruto' had gone missing, and this seemed to be tantamount to 'the village is under attack' if appearances were any evidence.

There were at least fifteen ANBU (including two captains and one trainee), a large man with a formidable mane of white hair, five shinobi with odd triangle tattoos on their faces, and the Hokage himself.

Despite her weariness, Rumbakore was curious to see what kind of person could elicit such a strong response, and quietly invited herself along when the group broke from the tower. They were hardly in any state to care.

Outside, they were met by no fewer than ten massive wolf-dogs, all breathing hard as if they'd been hours on the run. The largest among them, a big grey and white fellow with an eye-patch, much like her own, spoke. "We've found a blood trail, Hokage-sama."

The old man visibly stiffened. "And?"

The wolf-dog's voice came out as a barely restrained growl. "It's Naruto's."

Rumbakore's interest spiked. _Just what the hell is happening here?_

"Show us," the Hokage said quietly.

Their trail began in a neighborhood that frankly reminded her of the Tin sector of Iwa—the cramped buildings made of brightly painted and rusting tin, all crowding on top of one another with their narrow streets and rickety walkways, that clung to the steep rock of the lower city. Like the Tin sector in Iwa, this place looked like the grimy underbelly of Konoha. The only difference was that it was smaller.

In a deeply shadowed back alley, they found it—a dark stain that pooled and then smeared away, as if someone had bled out and then been dragged. The smooth, straight trail suggested that there had been no struggle—this 'Naruto' had either been deeply unconscious, or already dead. The size and shape of the blood pool suggested a fatal wound—not arterial, perhaps, as there was no spurt, but sizable enough that she also thought it likely to have been a deep core injury, rather than an extremity. But Rumbakore kept her thoughts to herself. She was in the company of trained shinobi—they could see these things for themselves.

It occurred to her that this was a very sloppy mistake—surely the attackers knew that there were many ways to track a blood trail, even with the rain coming down like it was. The alley was sheltered, and the evidence hadn't been disturbed at all. That meant either the attackers were _trying _to be found, or they were hopelessly incapable. Which begged the question, once again: who was 'Naruto?'

The Hokage crouched over the dark stain for a long moment. "Gods," she heard him mutter, and the emotion in his voice shocked her. She tried to imagine her own Tsuchikage in such a state, and found it impossible.

"Let's go," he growled. The anger rolling off of him was palpable, and the glint in his eyes was disconcerting, even to her. She reminded herself to not cross this man, if she could help it.

They sped through the dark streets and driving rain, following the wolf dogs and their masters, and Rumbakore thought she felt something.

She didn't say anything at first—it could have been the rumbling of distant thunder—but the further they went, the more certain she was that the constant thumping was deliberate. It reminded her of the sounds her elephants made when they were talking to each other over long distances, a grumbling, rolling sound that vibrated through the ground. An earthquake, maybe? But the more she focused on the sound, or feeling, or whatever it was, she became certain that it wasn't anything like that. It was a steady pounding that raised the hairs on her arms. _What _is _that? _She was nearly driven to distraction, but no one else seemed to have noticed. Not for the first time, she cursed her absurdly keen hearing.

She saw several of the other ninjas stiffening—maybe they had finally noticed it.

"The Uchiha compound," someone said in a strained voice.

_Ah, maybe not then,_ she thought, glancing ahead. They had reached a walled section of the city, with great big symbols—vaguely resembling fans—painted on its gates.

The band slowed down, but only just. The Hokage blew right past a half-asleep man posted at the gate, who looked as if he was about to speak, and then thought better of it as dozens of shinobi followed in the old man's wake.

The biggest wolf dog picked up speed, and there was urgency in his voice. "Up there—the hill—"

"The clan shrines?" The dog's partner couldn't keep the incredulity from her voice, but the dog only nodded and ran faster.

On they raced, darting up the long staircase, flashing in and out of the tree-shadows. Each step sent up a splash, as the stairs had become a waterfall under the torrent of rain and runoff. The entrance to the shrine, a great arch that was barely visible against the night storm, loomed ahead. The pounding in the ground, almost unbearable now, abruptly ceased. Rumbakore couldn't help the thrill of anxiety that wormed its way up her spine.

She mounted the last step, and found the rest of the group had slid to a stop, gathered around the lead dog. "I don't believe it," the wolf growled. "It's… it's a false trail."

"No," Rumbakore said, and they all turned, as if noticing her for the first time. She couldn't believe they hadn't felt the tremors—up until a moment ago they had been growing stronger. The shinobi were losing their heads over this person—even the Hokage, who was supposed to be a pinnacle of strength and self-control. She pointed down. "They're in the ground."

"What—" the Hokage began, but one of the ANBU—the trainee—spoke up.

"She might be right," the boy said. "The Uchiha clan inters many of its members' bodies whole."

Everyone stared for a moment. It was very unusual not to burn the body of a loved one, and unheard of if they were a ninja—_especially _if they possessed a bloodline.

"That sounds like a _normal_ clan," Rumbakore muttered, approving less and less of Konoha.

The boy glanced her way, as if he wanted to say something, but turned instead to the Hokage. "The entrance is hidden. Down in the ravine beyond this hill. The catacombs are almost directly beneath us."

The Hokage gave him a dangerous look. "Uchihas…" he growled.

The ANBU looked ready to respond, but he never got the chance.

The earth _bucked_.

_Oh HELL! _Those were the only words flashing through Rumbakore's mind as she was slammed into the air by some tremendous force, along with everyone else. Flipping in her trajectory, she gaped as the landscape beneath them fractured and seemed to follow them skyward in one impossible mass. Trees, shrines, stone blocks, great hunks of earth—they all exploded upward and outward. And then the shockwave hit in a flash of hot biting dust and flecks of debris, knocking the wind out of her.

For all of a heartbeat, she couldn't see, and she couldn't breathe. But she felt a terrible, oppressive awareness slam against her mind.

As she fell, and the earth crashed back into place below, she thought she saw a bloom of fire, or red light. Then the great slabs of rock and dirt slammed down all around, and the smoke and dust billowed, and it disappeared.

Rumbakore hit the ground at the edge of the crater, and scrambled backward as it continued to collapse in on the catacombs below.

When the dust cleared, and the rain carried away the smoke, she could see people all around the blast site picking themselves up and staring down into the hole. Several ninjas were already slipping and sliding through the destruction, shouting. She looked down too, wondering what they saw. _Is that…?_ She squinted, wiping blood from her forehead. Almost in the perfect center of the rubble, there was a spot of gold.

And then her eyes widened when she saw an arm, and part of a shoulder sticking up out of the rocks, and she couldn't comprehend it. The person who had been stabbed in the street, the person who had Konoha's elite racing to find him, the person who had been at the epicenter of an explosion the likes of which she'd never seen…

"Gods," she whispered finally. "He's just a kid."

Ooo

_Kid…_

…_wrong with him?..._

Naruto grimaced. Voices were dancing in and out of his range, sounding one moment as if they were coming to him through deep water, and the next as if they were sharp as knives, grinding across his thoughts like diamond dust.

…_said five tons of stone…_

…_doing at the Uchiha estate?..._

_No, get her out of here…_

_Who is he?..._

…_Kid, you…_

_Naruto…_

**Kid.**

Naruto stiffened as the voice rolled over him.

"Kid…"

His lips cracked open, and his breath felt like the dust of the grave. "Ojii…san…"

A warm, wrinkled hand grasped his own, and held it tightly. "Naruto…"

He struggled, and managed to open one eye just a slit. His vision was fuzzy, but he knew that voice. The familiar scent of tobacco and summer pine washed over him as the figure leaned forward. His vision swam, and a tear trickled out. What was the matter with him? He never cried, and yet this was the second time in as many days. "R'you… mad a' me?" he rasped.

"No, Naruto, I—" the old man's voiced cracked. "No, of course not."

"Why…?" And then it all started flooding back, and he began to struggle in rising panic. "Ojiisan, I… they…"

"Naruto, Naruto, easy," the old man said, taking his shoulder gently. "What's the matter?"

Naruto grimaced with the pain of it, and the shame of his falling tears, and the horror that was clawing its way up his throat like a living thing. "I ki—I killed—those people—I _killed them!_"

"No, Naruto," responded the comforting old voice instantly. "You didn't kill anyone."

His eyes finally came all the way open, and flew to the old man's face. Could it be true? There had been so much destruction—his heart trembled, and he hardly dared to hope. "They're alive?"

The Hokage's eyes hardened, looking past the boy. "Not anymore."

Naruto stared at his grandfather, in all but blood, and began to shake. There were tubes coming out of his nose and arms, and machines beeping all around, but he suddenly just needed something solid to hold on to. "Ojii—"

**He's lying, and you know it. You really **_**did**_** kill those people.**

Naruto stiffened, breath catching in his throat. _No. Don't do this to yourself._

**You're in denial. You're going to have to deal with this eventually.**

Naruto squeezed his eyes shut. _No. No. Believe the old man—he wouldn't lie to you. He wouldn't do that._

"Naruto?"

**Maybe he would, if he was trying to save you.**

_Then LET him!_

"Naruto, it's all right," came his ojiisan's voice, and then surprisingly strong arms were lifting him up, and he was enveloped in those familiar smelling robes. "It's all right, son." He froze, shocked and unused to such treatment. Then he reached up with both arms and held on to the old man as if his life depended on it, and buried his face against his one and only rock in life.

And, as any seven year old would do, he cried.

"Naruto," the old man said gently after a time.

Naruto, who had been reduced to sniffles and was wavering on the cusp of exhaustion, didn't even move. "Huh?"

"When you sign out tomorrow, there's someone I'd like you to meet. You're going to be my diplomat, okay?"

Naruto nodded as his eyes began to slide shut. _I like meeting strangers…_

"And Naruto?"

His eyes were all the way closed now. "Hn…"

"Happy birthday, squirt."

Ooo

The next day, the hospital checked him out just like Ojiisan had said, and they didn't even throw him dirty looks like they usually did. At least, _most_ of them didn't, but for the ones who did, Naruto just screwed up his face and gave them a dirty look right back. But the expressions of pity were something new, and they made him so unaccountably uncomfortable that he wanted to flee the scene even faster.

Apparently the nursing staff had taken his shirt and shorts and just burned them, saying there was no way to get the blood out. Naruto was righteously pissed about that development—he had maybe three changes of clothes to his name, and today he would have to walk home in hospital threads. Luckily they gave him a pair of pants to go with his open-backed gown.

He shuddered with realization. He would have to go shopping.

Just as he was stepping out into the bright street, three figures descended all around him, and he instantly crouched, flaring his chakra.

"Holy shit!" screamed a distinctly girlish voice.

"Woah—easy!" shouted another.

Naruto blinked. Two girls and a boy stood staring at him, frozen in varying defensive positions. They were older—students maybe—but they were just kids like him. "Uh," Naruto began as he straightened, feeling embarrassed for his drastic reaction. "What do you guys want?"

One of the girls was auburn haired with green eyes and carried a set of metal claws grasped in each fist. She spoke up in a surprisingly soft voice. "Uhm…we're supposed to guard you."

"Huh?"

The other girl—Naruto jumped when he recognized her as Hana, Kiba's older sister—clarified. "It's our first bodyguard assignment. D-rank, with a chance of upgrade to C-rank." She grinned at him with a wink, setting down her puppy.

"Bodyguard?" Naruto echoed, feeling strange. _He_ was an assignment now?

"Don't worry," said the boy—a tall kid with short red hair and a stripe of black paint across his eyes. "You won't even know we're here."

"Just yell if you need us," added Hana, smiling. And with that, they all sprang away.

_They didn't even tell me their names, _Naruto thought, grumbling to himself as he set off down the street. "ANBU-san?" he called in a low voice.

There was no response. He'd been shuffled over to bigger, dumber teams. "Oy!" he called with more volume. "I-_tachi!_"

The black figure dropped soundlessly from above, landing in a patch of shade between buildings. "Shut-up, kid," the shape's voice hissed without venom. "There's a reason we wear masks."

"Okay, _ANBU_," Naruto conceded, sitting down on a crate next to where the ninja crouched. "Why are three older kids following me around?"

"They're not kids, Naruto. They're genin."

"Not what I asked."

The ninja paused, and then pulled up his mask to glance at him. "The Sandaime thinks it's a good idea to have a three man team watching you. Plus it will let you get to know the older generations of ninja better."

Naruto frowned. "Why aren't—what's wrong with just one?"

"Naruto," Itachi began, looking down. "_I_ failed you. It was my fault you were taken—my family called me away, and I thought you would be all right on your own for a few hours." He looked up, meeting Naruto's eyes. "I am sorry. If I had simply—"

"It's okay," Naruto interrupted. "I messed up too. They surrounded me when I wasn't paying attention. I coulda gotten away."

Itachi nodded with a ghost of a smile. "We both messed up, then."

Naruto held up a finger abruptly, drawing Itachi's eyes. "I'll forgive you on one condition. You have to teach me how to throw shuriken and kunai. I missed all of the people when I was fighting in the tunnel."

"Deal." Itachi said seriously. "And I'll forgive _you_ on one condition. You buy yourself some real ninja clothes. Okay?"

"Okay!"

And after he stopped by his apartment to change out of the hospital clothes, he set off towards downtown to do just that. As he was running along the rooftops, feeling as if he'd never been stabbed or crushed in his life (let alone just a day and a half ago), his _other_ voice spoke up from whatever sludgy recess of his mind that it had been hiding.

**This is pathetic. You're completely ignoring your problems.**

_Shut the hell up, you._ Naruto told himself.

**Are you just going to pretend like nothing happened? Are you even going to look for answers, or are you just going to let them all steamroll you?**

_There aren't any questions, so how can there be answers? _That wasn't completely true, but he didn't even know where to begin. And the questions he _did_ have, well… he _knew_ he wouldn't like what he found.

**Aagh!** roared the other voice. **You're either incredibly naive, or willfully ignorant. Either way, that boils down to you being a total idiot.**

_Shut up, _Naruto commanded himself again. _Maybe you don't want to know._

**Maybe you **_**should.**_** Maybe this was only a taste of what's to come. Maybe there are clues you're missing, clues that could tell you about future attempts on your life.**

_Why would there be_ future_ attempts? _Naruto almost screamed in his mind. He was nearly to Main Street, and the buildings were getting taller. He was nearly five stories up, leaping across a rooftop garden.

**Aah,** rumbled his other voice. **There's the crux of the matter. Maybe we'll have this discussion another time.**

And the voice receded, leaving an oily residue on Naruto's mind. He was shaking his head, already putting the conversation behind him, when he realized something. The voice had said 'we'. Just like it had before, right before the tunnels collapsed on him. His blood ran cold, and he had to consider just what he knew about his other voice. Up until this very moment, he had considered it normal—something of a weird habit, but normal nonetheless. But it occurred to him that he often disagreed with the voice, and it often seemed to know more than he did. If he was talking to himself, shouldn't he already know both sides of the argument? Looking at both sides of a problem was one thing, but coming up with information independently? And then _withholding _it?

He came to a stop on the roof of the clothes store, watching the crowds go by four stories below, and sat with a huff on the edge. What if he was crazy? Suddenly the day didn't seem so warm.

Hew spotted a flash of pink in the crowd, and his internal debate was washed away. "Sakura-chan!" he shouted excitedly, and dropped from his perch. The wind whistled through his hair, and he landed with a less-than-graceful thump in a puff of dust. Civilians jumped and crowded away in alarm, but Naruto just waved at his friend as she ran toward him, her mother in tow.

"Naruto!" she shouted, grabbing him in hug. "You're okay!"

"Yeah," he replied, happily hugging her back. It was still a new experience, but he was getting used to it.

She let him go and looked at him with those sea-green eyes. "Mama told me part of what happened, but she wouldn't tell me everything." Her intense gaze told him she expected the full story later.

"Hi, Haruno-san!" Naruto said to her mother, remembering his manners.

"Hello, Naruto," the older woman said, looking at him with a mixture of relief and surprise. "What are you doing here?"

He was sure she meant 'when you should be in the hospital', but he answered, "I need to go clothes shopping. The stuff I was wearing got ruined, and the nurses threw it all away."

Sakura's eyes widened. "You can come shopping with _us_! I'll pick out really good stuff for you!"

Naruto glanced at her, feeling both relieved that he wouldn't have to do it, and worried at the devilish gleam in her eye.

"You are welcome to join us," her mother added, looking at her daughter with exasperation. "You've gotten much too high-strung since we moved here, Sakura."

Sakura just stuck her tongue out and grabbed Naruto by the sleeve, pulling him toward the store.

Just before they went through the doors, a voice brought him up short. "Oy, Naruto." He looked around quickly, confused. There was no one in sight who seemed to want to talk to him. "Hey," said the voice again, and Naruto looked up.

There was the masked ANBU with the silver hair, the one called Dog, crouched upside down beneath the store's awning. Naruto gaped, and a second later Sakura joined him. "Who is that?" she whispered, more disturbed than impressed.

"Dog!" said Naruto, in answer and greeting.

The one visible eye turned up (or down, in this case) in a smile, and the ninja held up a finger. "Mission number one, kid."

Naruto waited.

Dog just watched him impassively, and Naruto finally demanded, "So what do I have to do?"

The ANBU grinned again, wider this time. "I'll tell you when you get back out. Just remember to keep your eyes open."

Naruto gave him a squinty glance before carefully entering the store, with Sakura and her mother right behind. He'd never been comfortable in these sorts of places, given the high rate of probability that he'd get thrown out on his rear. Sakura drug him from rack to rack, and he tried so hard to keep an eye on everything and everyone that he ended up skittering sideways most of the time.

Sakura laughed uproariously when she noticed him doing this. "You look like a crab, Naruto!"

"Ch," he said, embarrassed. "You heard the Dog—I have to keep a close watch!"

"Try this on," she said, tossing him a green shirt. "And he said, keep your eyes open, not… you know, a close watch."

Naruto scowled at her, and grimaced at the shirt. "Greeen?"

"You don't like green?" she asked, peering at him with those sea-green eyes.

"No, I like it okay," he said quickly, feeling unaccountably nervous. "Just not to wear."

"Sakura," said her mother helpfully. "Why don't you ask Naruto what colors he does like?"

"Because they might be ug—"

"Orange!"

"—ly…"

Sakura gave him a cock-eyed expression. "I thought you wanted to be a ninja!"

"Think about it, Sakura!" Naruto said in an exaggerated whisper. "It'd be like those training weights Kiba's mom was talking about!"

She wrinkled her nose. "What?"

"Yeah, if we can sneak around in bright colors, imagine how much easier it will be when we change!"

Her fiercely speculative expression faded. "You're just trying to get the color you want."

He laughed. "So? Two stones with one bird!"

"I think that's 'two birds with one stone,' Naruto," said Sakura's mother.

"What if you're trying to catch stones?" he asked cheekily.

"You have a strange way of looking at things," the woman said, smiling bemusedly.

But, after much back and forth, Naruto got his way, and he even convinced Sakura to join in on his plan. That didn't keep her from bemoaning the turn of events as they left the store.

"Agh, we both clash so much!" she cried. "Pink does _not_ go with red, and yellow _really _doesn't go with orange. You're making my eyes water, Naruto!"

"Makes it harder to see me, doesn't it?" he asked with a grin, lugging a bag full of yet more sun-bright clothing.

She only moaned again. "I'm coming back tomorrow," she promised grimly, and her mother laughed, shaking her head.

"You look pretty, Sakura-chan!" Naruto protested.

She scowled. "I don't want to look _pretty_, I want to look dangerous and mysterious!"

Her mother laughed even harder at that. "You say that _now_, bean-sprout—" Naruto swore he saw a nerve go in Sakura's forehead at the nickname, "—but just wait until you get older."

Sakura held up a fist, eyes blazing. "I'm never going to be like that! Naruto," she said, turning to her friend. "Promise me if I ever get like that, you'll kick me really hard in the shin."

"Okay," he agreed—being seven, he saw nothing wrong with the idea. "But I don't think I'll have to."

She finally smiled then, and her whole face glowed. "Thanks, Naruto."

"Come on, kiddo," said her mom, holding out a hand. "We're meeting your dad for lunch. Have a good day, Naruto!"

"See you later, Naruto!" Sakura said, waving at him, before skipping ahead on her mom's arm like a pink-haired tetherball.

Naruto watched them go, standing a bit forlornly as foot traffic passed by and no one even glanced in his direction. Before he could so much as get out a line of internal dialogue, a familiar voice spoke up. "Well?"

He spotted Dog standing sideways on the trunk of a big maple that was growing up between buildings. _Showoff._ "Well what?"

Dog crouched, folding his arms across his chest. "How many people were shopping in there?"

"Uh," Naruto said, surprised. He dragged his bag over next to the tree, putting a foot experimentally against the bark. "I dunno, maybe like… twenty."

"Maybe, huh? How many of them were shinobi?"

_Oh man…_ He squinted, trying to remember, while he tried to get his foot to stick to the tree. "Well, it was a ninja clothes store, so probably most of them?"

"Are you asking me, or telling me?"

"Yes, most of them were ninja."

"Where were the exits?"

Naruto smacked a hand over his face. Pop. Pop. His foot stuck and he pulled it away, several times. "I think there was the two sets of front doors, and then another leading to a second floor, and a back door… and a few windows. There was definitely a window in the dressing room."

"So you paid more attention to that, huh?" Dog observed, eye flickering to look at what Naruto was doing with his foot.

"Uhuh." Naruto gave an experimental heave, trying to get a step up on the trunk. He dropped down again. Not enough power, maybe. "Oh! And there were two ducts in the ceiling in the main area."

"Good," Dog said with a nod. "What about civilians? Including the employees."

Naruto grunted, getting two steps up and falling again. "I dunno… I think there were like five to seven people working the floor, and then a couple less working on registers. There was an office toward the back that I'm guessing had another couple, and then the handful of people shopping who weren't ninjas. Like Sakura's mom."

"Those are pretty round numbers. What about security?"

"Secur—Aah!" A powerful step sent splinters flying and Naruto tumbled backward, landing in a heap. "Ow ow ow," he muttered, crawling to his feet.

"Security," Dog repeated. "Cameras, surveillance devices, guards, seals? You didn't notice any?"

Naruto shook his head, eyes wide. "Why would I? I wasn't going to steal anything."

"And yet you noticed almost all of the escape routes?"

Naruto looked sheepish then, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, I… I have to get away sometimes, fast."

Dog seemed to droop then. "Ah."

Naruto set at the tree again, frowning at his moment of weakness. _Less power. It's gotta be just right._ One step. Two steps. Excitement welled up, and he trembled, trying to hold himself upright. Three. Four. He sucked in a breath… and fell again. "Crap!"

"What about weapons? Who had them, and what were some items that you could have used in a pinch?"

That was something he_ had_ noticed. "All of them had the basics, except for two—one of them was unarmed, and the other one had a big pole strapped to his back." He stepped up the tree again, this time trying to stay calm. One. Two. Three. "Two—no, three had katanas, another had a giant shuriken plus some scrolls. One, I'm pretty sure, had senbon needles up her sleeves, but I'm not positive." Four. Five. Six. He was almost level with Dog, and began to pant. "My three guardians who followed me in had a dog, a pair of claws, and at least three long-bladed knives. There was another guy with a great big sword strapped to his back, and a girl with a pair of hooks. Like, baling hooks." He turned slowly, standing next to the ANBU, tongue poking between his teeth in concentration. "And then," he panted, shaking, "there was me. I had coat hangers—" he crouched slowly, "—and phone cords. Belts. Ceiling fans. Glass, if I broke that fish-tank, and rocks. Mannequins." He began to chuckle in a smug way as he sat next to the ANBU on the side of the tree.

"Hm," Dog said. "Not bad for your first try."

Naruto beamed, clenching his jaw as he tried to stay attached to the bark.

"These are the things you need to pay attention to _every _time you enter a room, and every time you go to a new place. I'm going to ask you harder questions next time, Naruto. And you better be more sure than 'maybe', okay?"

"Okay."

"And Naruto?"

"What?"

"Don't you have somewhere important to be?"

Naruto thought hard. _Oh crap, Ojiisan!_ His concentration gone, he fell off the tree with a loud and garbled shout.

Ooo

"Ojiisan, sorry I'm late, I had to get new clothes cuz the hospital burned—" he broke off his tirade as the doors swung closed behind him. Ojiisan and Jiraiya-sensei stood by the big windows with another figure, obviously expecting him.

"Naruto, good," The Hokage said with a smile. "There is someone who would like to meet you."

The person standing next to the Sandiame by the window turned, and Naruto's eyes widened despite himself.

She was lean and tall—taller even than Jiraiya, which meant she seemed three times Naruto's height. Her skin was a dusty caramel color, and her long white hair was a magnificent mane of ropes, tied with beads of ivory and turquoise. Her clothes were strange—faded cinnabar-dyed cloth wrapped close against her body, underneath a sleeveless oil-skin jacket that had the white fir turned in. Her baggy blue-grey pants reached to her knees, tucked into the supple leather wrapped around her calves and feet. Her shuriken pouch was fastened to her left thigh, along with a long knife, and several scrolls were fastened to her right. The supply pouch fastened to the back of her wide belt seemed travel-worn and much too big. There was a formidable white pelt slung over her arm, and he guessed that it would fasten at her shoulders.

But the most striking thing about her was her eyes. One was covered by a leather patch with a daisy on it. The other was an intense yellow with a ring of black around the outside. _Like a wolf,_ Naruto thought.

"Hello, Naruto," she said, and her voice was a little rough, as if she laughed and shouted too much.

"Hello," he said, intimidated. He finally spotted her forehead protector. "You're from Iwa!"

She chuckled, a husky and pleasant sound. "Yes, I am. My name is Yamanoue Rumbakore. Good to meet you, little man."

He suddenly wondered at her age, and couldn't stop himself from blurting the question. "How old are you?"

She threw back her head and laughed.

"Kid!" Jiraiya growled, whacking him. "You've got no tact!"

Naruto scowled at him, rubbing his cranium, and shot back, "I don't know what tact is, but I bet I have more than _you_, and you're like fifty times my age!"

The Hokage nodded sagely while the tall woman's rolling laughter faded into an amused sigh.

"Fifty times—" the Sannin sputtered. "I'm not even fifty years _old_…"

"To answer your question, I'm twenty-seven," Rumbakore finally replied, ignoring the way Naruto's eyes bugged out. _Old_! "And now I have a question for you."

Naruto went still, waiting with rapt attention.

"Are you happy?"

He stared at her. He'd never been asked that. He'd never even asked himself. _Was_ he? He had some friends, and people who looked out for him. He had his own apartment, and he had his health. He could mostly do what he wanted all day long, and make his own rules. He talked to interesting new people every day, and learned new things all the time. Was he happy? He opened his mouth, but hesitated.

He was stared at, and cursed upon. He'd been kidnapped and almost killed. He was treated with distrust and resentment by people he didn't know. He was bullied and beaten up by perfect strangers. He had no family—no brothers or sisters, no mother or father. No grandparents, aunts or uncles, or even cousins. He was alone.

"Your silence speaks volumes," she said, watching his conflicted face. She straightened, having come to a decision. "In one year's time, Iwa will be hosting the Chuunin exams. Think about my question, and come to speak to me then." She turned to the Sandaime. "My answer to you is dependant on his answer to me."

The Hokage looked deflated. "Very well. In one year then. I hope you find the remainder of your stay to be satisfactory. You will be treated as one of our own until you depart."

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama," Rumbakore said, looking at Naruto. "If this is the way you people treat one of your own, I would prefer to remain an honored stranger."

ooo

**A/N:** Hey dudesies, sorry for the unusually long wait! I've been pretty busy with end of term school stuff, so bear with me. Hopefully this chapter's length will help make up for it. Also, I was wondering if there was any way to reply to comments? I feel like a douche just reading and not replying, you know? And can I reiterate how very much I loooooooooooooooove love love comments? They make me super happy, especially if they're long, detailed, and/or include story critiques. So if ya want to be the spice of my life, leave some words when you go. WHOAH my gosh! Timeskip, finally! Naruto will be startin school, traveling to exotic locales, gettin beat up, and... seeing minor demons? Bwaahaha. Dun forget to comment, peeps!


	6. Off We Go

Ooo Chapter 6: Off We Go ooO

"Hokage-sama… we lost him." The three genin stood slump-shouldered in the Hokage's office. They had been on 'Naruto-Duty', an assignment either deeply loathed or eagerly anticipated by all new shinobi, depending on who you were and what kind of mood the target was in.

"What do you mean you lost him?" snapped the old man.

"Well, he just… I've never seen anybody run so fast!" protested one.

"He ran straight up the side of the village wall without even slowing down!" cried another.

The Hokage felt a vein throb in his forehead. "Dammit, Kakashi, why did you have to teach him—"

"I didn't teach him that!" the dog-masked jounin retorted, nose buried in the messy notes of what appeared to be a rough manuscript.

"Where was he headed?" the Hokage asked, massaging his temples.

"We're not sure, but he had a big kite lookin' thing and was running toward the Inuzuka compound."

The Sandaime looked at his silver-haired subordinate. "You don't think…?"

Kakashi could do little but shake in silent laughter. His part-time student had only become more of a hell-raiser in the last eleven months, and it pleased him to no end.

Ooo

"Come on Kiba, hurry up!" Naruto shouted, racing up the creek.

"Shut up, Naruto! I'm not as good at this as you!"

"It's not my fault you're such a bad student," Naruto called smugly, leaping over a boulder and dashing on up the rapids. Each step danced over the churning water, sending up a glittering splash—his control wasn't nearly perfect, but it was improving.

"Well it's not my fault you're such a bad _teacher_!" retorted the other boy, focusing harder on his feet than where he was going.

A massive shape shadowed them from the bank, darting in and out of the overgrown bracken like a breath of wind.

"Even Kuromaru's beating you, Kiba!"

"He's got four legs to run—" Kiba abruptly disappeared with a splash.

Naruto barked with laughter and turned back to pull his friend out, standing unsteadily on the surface of the bubbling water and reaching in with one arm. Kiba coughed and spluttered as he emerged, and Naruto slapped him on the back. "What happened?"

"I tripped over a log," said Kiba, pushing wet hair out of his eyes.

The big wolf appeared at the edge of the creek, his one eye glowing. "You did not, you just fell right—"

"C'mon, let's get going before they catch up!" Kiba interrupted.

Naruto laughed and shot away, and the other two sprang after him.

The creek twisted and turned, tumbling down through overhanging trees and logs, carving through high banks of dark and mossy basalt, and crashing across great staircases of tumbled and cracked stone. In some places it was narrow enough to stretch your hands out and touch both sides of the banks—in those sections the water ran deep and swift. In other places it pooled and widened out, dribbling over the creek bed in multiple streams. The further they went, the steeper it became, until they were leaping up small waterfalls, and the landscape to either side became rougher.

Then they came around the last bend, and there it was—the big one. It crashed from the cliff edge hundreds of feet above, plummeting in a torrent of cool spray that whipped up the wind in the little grotto. The cascade churned up the wide pool at the base of the cliffs, surrounded by a bowl of rock that gave way to moss and then thick vegetation at its edges.

"W-hoah," Kiba breathed.

"It's perfect," Naruto murmured.

"This is a bad idea," Kuromaru said flatly.

"Kiba, you can go after me," Naruto offered generously, hefting his homemade kite and locking in a few joints.

"That's okay," Kiba said, eyes traveling to the top of the falls. "I'm just here to see what happens."

"Chicken," Naruto scoffed, lacing up the orange fabric so that it stretched tightly over the wing spars.

"We'll see who's chicken when we have to scrape you off the rocks, dude."

Naruto's blue eyes darted back down the creek. "Just keep an eye out for my 'body-guards', okay?" He perched the kite on his shoulder and hopped away over the rocks.

"I call _not_ catching him," he heard Kiba quip.

"Shut it, kid," the wolf growled.

Naruto grinned widely, pumping chakra into his legs and flying over the stones. With a last pulse, he leapt powerfully and hit the sheer side of the cliff face at a dead run. The world tilted crazily as he sprinted straight upward, zipping over moss and clinging ferns and slick rock. The forest peeled away with the dropping horizon as he climbed, and the waterfall was a blur on his left.

Adrenaline pumped through his veins and wind whipped through his hair. _Nothing is better than this_, he thought. Except hopefully what he was about to do.

The lip of the cliff neared at a dizzying rate, and all of a sudden he had shot up and over the edge. The world reoriented itself as he landed, stumbling sideways a bit, on the bare height. The river rushed past him, leaping out and over the edge into thin air.

Naruto turned and leaned out, spotting Kiba and Kuromaru peering up at him like tiny ants. His gaze traveled on past them, and caught several shapes quickly moving up the bright ribbon of creek. _Shoot! Better make this quick before they catch you._

He snapped the kite open to its full span—nearly eight feet across, and three deep at its widest—and locked it. There were straps for his arms on the underside of the main frame, with finger grips that directed the roll of the kite and thumb grips that directed the pitch. Slipping his arms in and buckling the straps, he backed away from the edge until he had distance for a good running start.

He took a second to take in the view and gather his chakra. He had a plan—well, a theory, really. He just hoped—no, it definitely would work. That slice of sky against the edge of rock sure was intimidating, though. His heart pounded in his chest. _Go. Go. GO!_ He bit the inside of his cheek and threw caution to the winds.

His feet were moving, the distance disappeared, and with a last step and a giddy whoop, he shot into the air.

Ooo

"Where's Naruto?" Kakashi asked the brown-haired kid sitting on the stones next to a large wolf. The three genin who were supposed to be guarding his hyperactive student were close behind him, and another few ANBU had tagged along—they knew where the entertainment in this village was. Off duty ANBU often searched the boy out, just to see what he was up to, or to join in on a chase if one was already in progress.

The brown-haired boy, whom Kakashi belatedly identified as Inuzuka Kiba, pointed a thumb straight up.

They all looked up, and Kakashi saw nothing but clouds.

"Top of the falls," the wolf supplied gruffly.

They all redirected their collective gaze, and Kakashi squinted hard. "I don't see any—"

A loud whoop echoed through the gorge, and a shape blotted out the sun. Then it blazed orange, lit from behind, and Kakashi realized what he was seeing. "Holy…"

The fiery shape dipped, and everyone gasped. "He's falling!"

Kakashi tore his mask off and raised his hitai-ate, exposing the blood-red sharingan. "No—he's not." What he saw both amazed and astounded him. Flight had been the lifelong goal and obsession of countless shinobi over the ages. Some had succeeded—their methods had either been too difficult or lost over time—but most had failed. It was something both jealously lusted after and written off as impossible. The biggest obstacle had always been the sheer amount of chakra needed to pull it off. But this kid… it was absurdly crude, to be sure, and only worked with the assistance of a wing frame. And the massive amount of chakra the boy was using… it practically ignited the air underneath the big wings, rolling cyclones of chakra that continually lifted the stretched fabric. Even with all that, Naruto was slowly losing altitude. Not that he would hit the ground anyplace short of the village. But… he _was_ flying.

With crowing laughter, the kid redoubled the whirling chakra and lifted higher. "Scrape _this_ off the rocks, Kiba!" came the distant shout, accompanied by what could only be a rude hand gesture. And with that, the boy disappeared over the treetops.

_Who the hell is this kid?_ Kakashi mused, deliberately covering his sharingan eye once more.

"The Hokage's gonna kill us," groaned one of the genin, while several of the ANBU just laughed.

"Pay up," the big wolf was saying.

"What are you gonna do with money anyways?" Kiba pouted, digging in his shorts pocket.

"Doesn't matter, does it?"

"How are you gonna carry it?"

The wolf went silent at that. "Well… just give it to Tsume when we get back."

"But she's the one who gives me my allowance in the first place."

The wolf grunted in annoyance. "Why did we even make a bet?!"

"I don't know; you didn't have to accept it."

"Okay, just… you have to buy me dinner when we get back to the village."

"What if they don't allow dogs?"

"Then get it to go!"

"You mean in a 'doggy-bag'?" Kiba said smugly.

"I like Naruto better than you," the wolf growled.

Ooo

Naruto sailed over the massive city gates, sucking in a breath as he nearly clipped a shinobi at fifty miles an hour. The narrowly avoided ninja cursed up a shrill storm, but Naruto was too focused on the rapidly approaching ground to really notice.

He was panting heavily, and the chakra wheels that had been keeping him aloft were too much to maintain. He'd given plenty of thought to how he would get airborne, but sadly very little to how he was going to land. Well, there was the gatehouse, and the main avenue—Ichiraku Ramen zipped by—and the Yamanaka flower shop… People began to look up and notice him—he was a bare five feet over the heads of the crowd—and his increasingly anxious sounding shout made him hard to miss. The throngs parted in a wave of mass panic.

He was pulling back on the pitch with all his might, but it made very little difference, and in the back of his mind, he could only pray to land somewhere soft.

"Aaaah—aaaaAAAH—" He smashed into a cart at blinding speed in a flash of orange, and the whole thing flew apart like it had been hit with a mortar shell. Planks and splinters, a crush of water and dozens of fat crayfish, bits of orange fabric and one wet kid went flying.

Naruto rolled to a stop, his kite snapped lamely underneath him, and stared at the sky for a moment, trying to regain his breath. Shrugging out of his straps, he plucked a crayfish from his chest and sat up, shaking out his hair. After another moment's consideration, he nodded to himself. "Not bad."

He promised the mutinous looking vendor that he would pay for the damages after helping him reclaim as many of the skittering little crustaceans as they could, before dragging his sorry kite along with his sorry self to the ramen stand.

"Yo Teuchi-san," he said tiredly, slumping into a seat.

"Hey Naruto! I haven't seen you in…my, it must be hours!" the old man greeted. "What happened to you?"

Naruto opened his mouth to explain, but before he could, Ayame spoke up. "That orange blur that just shot by down the street—was that you?"

Naruto nodded, letting his head thunk onto the counter. He was exhausted. He could barely lift a finger. "Miso, please. No…pork. No—miso."

"How about one of each?" Ayame asked kindly.

"More like ten of each," Teuchi said, reaching for ingredients. "Looks like you've got a bout of chakra exhaustion, kid."

Naruto rolled his head to peer at the old man with one eye. "Chakra exhaustion?"

Teuchi pointed out toward the street. "I'm sure they'll explain it better than I can."

Naruto heaved himself upright with a grunt and turned to look. "Dog?" Then, with a smug expression, "and Bodyguards."

Kiba and Kuromaru were with them as well, and the other boy spoke up with a grin. "Looks like you had a happy landing, Naruto."

Naruto thought about telling him to shut-up, but then decided he didn't have enough energy. He let his head fall back to the counter with a sigh.

"You better hurry up with that ramen, or we're gonna have to feed him through a tube," Dog warned the chef. He cast a lazy eye Naruto's way. "After you get back some of that _wasted_ energy, we're going to have a good chat, kid."

Naruto's eyes flickered to the wreckage of his kite, and he grinned. "I think I'll paint a spiral on both wings. In blue. And it needs some… landing… stuff…" He drifted off right there, drooling on the counter.

Ooo

As it happened, the 'good chat' didn't go as he'd expected. They sat together on the side of the Hokage tower, since Dog was technically on duty. Instead of berating him, Dog seemed totally enthused about the whole thing, asking questions and offering advice with equal zeal. Naruto was only too happy to explain his contraption and his theories, being quite proud of them himself.

But Dog quickly brought him back down to earth when he pointed out how very wasteful the technique was. "Most shinobi—most average level shinobi—would only be able to maintain that sort of chakra emission for the amount of time the average person can hold their breath. And it would be about that uncomfortable, too."

Naruto could only gape. If he could make it more efficient, he would be able to fly longer…higher…and much, much faster. "How can I make it better?"

"The reason it's working is really two reasons. The first, which I'm sure is the one you thought about, is the rolling motion, which serves to push the air upward. The other side effect of the massive amounts of chakra is extreme heat, which happens to be buoyant."

Naruto grimaced. "Buoyant?"

Dog grinned slightly. "Heat rises."

"Oh." That did make sense. He supposed he knew that on some level.

"But I don't think you need both to make it work. Certainly the method you use will need to stand up on its own, and if you take away half of the equation now it won't, but heat… well, the way you're using it, it's slow moving. You've heard of hot air balloons, right?"

Naruto nodded. He'd seen them on television before.

"They don't move very fast, do they?"

"Nope."

"What you need is something that both lifts and propels quickly. And you want it to be as energy efficient as possible."

Naruto waited with bated breath, wondering what Dog could possibly have churning through that clever mind of his.

Dog shrugged, grinning. "I have no idea what that would be. You'll have to think about it, I guess."

Ooo

Sarutobi leaned against the window, smiling as he listened to the two conversing. Kakashi had spoken more in the past year than he had in the entirety of the seven years previous. The young man—barely past twenty now—had thrown himself into his work after the Kyuubi attack, and had become ever more reclusive and eccentric. He was a marvel of a shinobi, make no mistake, but this new Kakashi… the one who talked, and smiled, even _laughed_ occasionally. It was like looking into the past.

But no, Sarutobi corrected himself. Even back then, Kakashi had been the aloof sort. It was Naruto.

"Kid's a people person," commented his companion, downing a shot of sake.

"For Gods' sake, Jiraiya," Sarutobi muttered, shooting a glance at his student. "It's not even two o' clock."

"I'm on Iwa time," the big man countered defensively. That much was true—he still had Iwa dirt on his face, and even Iwa blood on his sleeves.

Sarutobi scowled even deeper. "Iwa time is two hours behind us, idiot."

Jiraiya burped, considering this. "Oh yeah."

The Hokage's visage softened as he looked out the window again, watching the yellow-haired boy gesture excitedly after Kakashi brought up the subject of seals. "Have you told him you're back in town yet?"

"No," Jiraiya replied, face distant. "I thought I'd surprise him later. And if what you've told me holds any truth, I would be stepping on quite a few toes if I tried to teach him now."

"We'll see," the Hokage responded. "There is no doubt that Kakashi—and Itachi, for that matter… There's no doubt they're doing very well with him. The Inuzuka appear to have taken a shine to him as well. But very soon he'll be headed to potentially hostile territory, and he'll be going with _you._ He hasn't seen you in a year. You might want to at least say hello, Jiraiya." He waited for a response. "Jiraiya?"

He turned, only to find that his student had fallen asleep in his chair, the bottle of sake clutched in one arm.

Ooo

Several days after Naruto's flying escapade, he was finally feeling back to his usual level of energy. Which was good, because Itachi was not being kind today.

"AaaaaAAH!" Naruto shouted, leaping and contorting like a pretzel to avoid the latest volley of kunai. The man had eight arms; that was the only explanation. Naruto fired off two of his own, which were easily deflected by the sickeningly quick ANBU.

Itachi was a full agent now, much to Naruto's chagrin. That meant that his hero was no longer given watch duty, and Naruto ended up seeing him much less. But he had a suspicion that the time Itachi _did_ take to train him was the reason he hadn't been promoted to captain yet.

It was really hard to feel sorry about that, though. While Oji-san would always be his pillar of strength in life, he was a busy man and didn't always have time for Naruto. Especially with his real grandson, Konohamaru, getting 'old enough to be interesting,' as he liked to say. Then there was Dog, who was very smart and helpful, but a complete enigma right down to what his name was and what his face looked like. And Jiraiya… Jiraiya had been gone for a whole year. Itachi was the constant. He taught him things, and joked with him, and every blue moon or so, Naruto managed to get him to come along on one of the infamous escapades that he and Kiba and Sakura pulled. Naruto thought maybe he was what an older brother would be like.

It was nice.

Naruto dodged again, and had to fire a burst of chakra to quickly propel himself in the opposite direction. It was like Itachi knew where he was going before he knew himself.

But even if Naruto couldn't toss twenty projectiles in two seconds, his aim was nearly dead on now. And that wasn't his only trick. With a sneaky grin, he carefully tapped three kunai, imbuing them with his chakra signature. He knew Itachi could see what he was doing, but that wouldn't help him until it was too late.

Twisting out of the path of five more kunai—one grazed his shoulder, but he ignored it—he flung his three. Two were spot on, but one went wide. Itachi deflected the first two, pulling out more of his own as he ignored the third.

With a yank, Naruto pulled the airborne weapon out of its trajectory and sent it whizzing back toward the ANBU. While Itachi moved to intercept it, Naruto performed the same action with the other two—this proved difficult, since they were imbedded in a large tree. It was that fact that ruined the plan. He'd moved just a bit too slow, and Itachi swung around just in time to snatch them out of the air and hurl them at their owner.

_Crap!_ Naruto thought, ducking. Then he realized they were still tied to his chakra, and he snagged them with hair-thin lines and sent them flinging back again.

"_Fuuton: _Wind Shield no jutsu!" Itachi shouted, sending a pulse of chakra-infused wind outward, blowing away the first two kunai as well as the next five Naruto had thrown. When it died down, Itachi shouted, "Time out!"

"What?" Naruto protested, straightening.

"You're sneaky, but not _that_ sneaky," Itachi said. "What was the rule we agreed on?"

"Kunai only," Naruto said, making a face.

"No jutsus," Itachi agreed. "You broke the rule."

Naruto scowled. "Bullshit! What—"

"You used chakra strings."

Naruto's face went blank, and he scratched his cheek. "That… that counts?" He hadn't considered that something like that was actually a technique with a name.

Itachi narrowed one eye. "Of course it counts."

"Well _you _used a friggin elemental jutsu!"

"Only because you cheated first."

"It wasn't cheating—you're the one hiding six other arms under that suit!"

"I have the same number of arms as you."

"Liar! There's no way you can throw that many kunai with only two!"

"It's actually very easy."

Naruto prepared for another retort, but he was distracted by the appearance of an observer. It was a young boy—probably about his own age—with jet black hair and equally dark eyes. The boy had an expression on his face Naruto thought he recognized… it was hurt. Betrayal.

Itachi turned to see what Naruto was looking at, and the boy disappeared.

"Who was that?" Naruto asked, worried.

Itachi's face, which had been so open with amusement a moment before, closed off into the stony mask that he always seemed to wear outside of their lessons. His voice matched his face—cool and indifferent. "Uchiha Sasuke. My brother."

Ooo

That evening found Naruto bumming a meal from the Inuzuka clan—this wasn't a big deal, since they had a large communal meal every night, and Naruto was almost expected now. Sakura's family had also joined them, as well as a small family from the Nara clan, whom Naruto recognized only from his forays onto Nara land.

He, Sakura, Kiba, and two of Kiba's uncles were lounging at the foot of one of the massive pines, leaning against several big dogs as they ate skewers of braized chicken and steamed vegetables. Naruto himself carefully avoided the vegetables, but inhaled the chicken in one hand while he worked on his flying contraption with the other, talking in between mouthfuls.

He told them all about the suggestions Dog had made, and what he planned to do, but Sakura was livid when she found out he'd done the test run without her.

"You weren't here!" he protested, wagging his chicken at her.

"I had to go to open house for school!" she shot back. "Which, by the way, you guys should have been doing too."

Kiba just shrugged and grinned lazily, but Naruto explained, "I'm not going the first term."

They both sat up straight, gawking. "What?" asked Kiba.

"What the hell?" Sakura said with more vehemence. "Why not?"

Naruto tried to look nonchalant. "I'm going to Iwa for the chuunin exams."

"What for?" asked Kiba.

Naruto fiddled with the finger grips on his kite. "Honestly, I'm not really sure. But I think it's important."

Sakura made an unhappy sound. "When do you have to go?"

He met her gaze. "A week. We'll be gone for at least two and a half months, they said."

Sakura leaned back against a big white dog with a huff, eyes downcast. "It's like you're moving away. You suck."

"I second that," Kiba said, snapping into a pea.

Naruto looked from Sakura to Kiba, seeing the grumpy expressions on their faces, and his heart swelled. They were sad he was leaving. They were going to miss him. He didn't say anything, but he couldn't keep the huge smile from his face. The conversation turned to other things, but he just kept marveling over the idea that someone _wanted _him, that they would care whether he stayed or went.

The brilliant orange of the dying sun was scattered through the trees in broken patches when a deep, rumbling voice called his attention away from the group. "Naruto."

He looked up and saw Kuromaru standing in the evening shadows, yellow eye glowing. The wolf tilted his head slightly, an indication to follow, and Naruto bounced to his feet with brimming curiosity.

They padded out of earshot of the rest of the clan, into deeper forest, where several other of the mighty dogs—Naruto recognized them as the older pack members—were sprawled in an informal gathering.

"What is it, Kuromaru?" Naruto asked, thoroughly mystified.

"Naruto," the big dog began, settling to his haunches and peering at him intently. "My mate, Aorimoro, will have a new litter of pups in several months. I want you as a partner for one of them."

Naruto stared at the big wolf, at the eye that gleamed like gold in the darkness, boring into him. "I… I don't…" He swallowed carefully. "I'm not an Inuzuka."

"Our clan—our _wolf_ clan—has partnered with the humans called Inuzuka because they are worthy of us. You are worthy, Naruto."

Naruto swallowed again. He was afraid of disappointing Kuromaru—the wolf was one of his best friends, after all—but he was equally afraid of angering the Inuzuka Clan. Some clanless kid, who they had allowed to roam on their land, play with one of their sons, and eat at their table—this kid would steal one of their treasured canine partners? "Kuromaru, won't the clan elders be angry—?"

"They are _my_ pups!" Kuromaru boomed sharply, bristling. "The humans have no say in who we choose or choose not. Inuzuka you may not be, Uzumaki Naruto, but you have the heart of a wolf. You will make a great alpha one day. Don't worry about what the human clan will do—this is my choice, and my mate's choice, and _our_ clan makes this request of you."

Naruto looked around, and each canine gaze was focused on him—measuring, approving, speculating, waiting.

When he left later that evening, he noticed Kiba's parents and several of the elders looking at him with unreadable expressions. Did they know what the wolves had asked him? Had they argued against the idea? Would they act coldly toward him? Would they banish him from the grounds? He cringed at the idea of losing them all—this huge, warm clan with their sunlit trees and family gatherings. But they only observed as he said goodbye to Kiba and Sakura for the night, watching and weighing the same way the wolves had.

Trotting home to his lonely apartment, he desperately hoped he was doing the right thing. The Inuzuka clan were some of the few people in Konoha who tolerated his presence. He couldn't even begin to consider what it would be like to be bonded to a wolf—the situation was complicated enough as it was. Kiba! How would he feel about it? Would he be angry? Jealous? Happy?

Luckily he would have several months away from the village to think about it.

He didn't even bother going through the building—he just scaled the wall to the top floor and slipped through his open window. The stupid thing was so hard to slide up and down that he just left it open most of the time.

So it shouldn't have surprised him when, as he flopped into bed with all his clothes still on, his gaze landed on a figure standing in the deep shadows by his door.

"DAah—!" he shouted, scuttling back in his bed.

The figure moved forward quickly, making shushing motions. Its voice came out in an odd, stilted rasp that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. "Sorry—not mean—scare. Not… bad… Sorry!"

As the figure moved into the dim light from the street lamp outside, Naruto froze, eyes wide. It—well, he—seemed to have a normal face at first, but the longer Naruto looked, the more it seemed as if there were another face underneath. This other face was wide and snarling, with great tusk-like teeth and blazing eyes and bristling fur. It was like the human skin was a mask.

Naruto slowly tensed, and his chakra coiled at the ready.

In the next instant, before he could even move, the creature had flashed across the room and slipped out his window. He wasted no time turning and slamming the window shut behind it, slumping against it with a shaky sigh.

"What the _hell_ was that?" he muttered aloud. His only answer was a low chuckle from the back of his mind.

With a resigned grunt he flopped over on the bed and promptly passed out.

Ooo

A sharp rapping sound woke him the next morning, and he looked up blearily. A gauntleted hand was pounding the glass with increasing violence.

Groaning, he reached up with one arm and shoved at the frame so that it shifted up by a few inches. "What?"  
"Kid," growled a familiar voice, and he shot upward in bed.

"Jiraiya-sensei?" he asked disbelievingly.

"In the flesh," the big man said with a grin. "Now get up, we needed to be gone an hour ago."

Ooo

**A/N: **Comment, oh revered reader, por faVOR! I'm dYiiiiing... I've... GOT... to KNOW... what you THINK! D:


	7. Phantoms

Ooo Chapter 7: Phantoms ooO

Naruto blinked, almost positive he was still dreaming. "What?"

Jiraiya beckoned aggressively. "I said, 'get the hell up, kid! We're leaving!'"

"Right now?"

"Yes, right now! What, did you think I actually get up this early because I'm a morning person?" The big man's snarled hair and gummy eyes were a testament to how true _that_ was.

"But I haven't seen you in… And I thought I still had a whole week? And what are you sitting…?" Naruto trailed off as he poked his head out the window. A monstrous eye peered back at him, and he promptly choked and hit his head on the window frame at the same time. "What the HELL?"

Jiraiya looked grumpy. "I'm the _toad_ hermit. It's a _toad._"

Naruto had scrambled across his room, to the far door, clutching his blanket and waving a hand around. "It's three stories tall!"

"Yep," Jiraiya said, patting the slimy head affectionately. "He's almost as old as I am."

"Don't patronize me, boss," croaked the toad in what could only be described as a thoroughly grating and obnoxious voice.

"It TALKS!" Naruto cried, clawing at his face and wilting to the floor.

"Stop being so dramatic, brat," Jiraiya grumbled. "Hop on. We've got places to be."

"Don't I need to get packed?"

The big man gave him a cock-eyed looked. "Aren't you already?"

Ooo

An hour later, a distinctly cranky looking Jiraiya and a disheveled but well packed Naruto showed up in front of the massive city gates. As it turned out, Jiraiya had misinformed the Hokage as far as dates and travel time were concerned, and if they'd left a week later, they would have missed the opening exams. Naruto was in the dark as to _why _this mattered, exactly, but he was eight and apparently not considered among the 'need to know' crowd. So there they were. Along with his overstuffed pack, Naruto was hauling along his nearly repaired kite, much to Jiraiya's dismay.

"What the hell is that supposed to be?" the big man had asked.

Naruto, feeling less than charitable toward him, only stuck out his tongue and maneuvered the kite away so that the big shinobi couldn't get a good look at it.

"Children," the man had muttered.

They waited for several minutes before Naruto finally asked, "What are we waiting for, sensei?"

Jiraiya gave him a strange look before answering, "Your teammates, of course. You can't just waltz into Iwa by yourself. It would look too suspicious."

Naruto thought about this, and opened his mouth to point out the obvious problem—that he was eight, and it would look suspicious anyway—when a burst of wind announced the arrival of two people.

They were two of the three genin from his original trio of bodyguards—the red haired boy with the black stripe across his eyes, and—"Hana!" he managed to say, feeling his stomach squirm with unease as he remembered the events of the previous night. Did she know about the wolves' offer?

"Yo, Naruto," she said in a subdued voice. He tried not to read too much into it; maybe she was just tired.

Naruto's eyes darted away from her and landed on the older boy. He opened his mouth, wondering if he'd ever known the boy's name, and the other boy lifted a hand in greeting, obviously about to offer it.

A thought occurred to him, and he abruptly turned to Jiraiya. "What the hell, sensei? Nobody's gonna believe I'm on a team with these guys!"

Jiraiya chuckled in that careless way of his. "We'll figure something out. Yosh! Let's get on the road!"

The two gate guards sighed in relief as the group walked by, obviously envisioning a long vacation from Naruto-induced public disturbances. Naruto himself gave them a long parting look, silently promising double the 'disturbances' when he returned, and saw one of them swallow nervously.

They had just set foot on the dirt road—the road that would take them, eventually, to the land of mountains called Iwa—when a sharp voice called out. "Jiraiya!"

All four of them turned to see the Hokage standing in the middle of the gates, clothed in his robes of office, sans the hat. "I know you have a penchant for stealing away without telling anybody, dear student," the old man said in an irritated tone. "But kindly don't force your habits onto my boy." And he looked at Naruto.

He hadn't said goodbye. In the next instant Naruto had dropped all of his things in the road and sprinted back to the gates, catching the old man in a fierce hug. An idea came to him. "Come with us, Ojiisan!"

"I can't, Naruto," the Hokage laughed, patting him on the back before releasing him at arm's length. "One of the drawbacks of being a leader, I'm afraid. But I'll tell you what. I _will_ be there for the third test."

"There's _three_?" Naruto gaped. No wonder the Exams took so long.

"Now, Naruto," the Hokage said, growing sober. "You're going to be in enemy—well, technically they aren't our enemies, but practically speaking—you'll be in _hostile _territory, and that means that you won't have to work very hard to give people a reason to try to hurt or even kill you." _Not that they need much of a reason now,_ Naruto thought, but he remained silent as the old man continued. "Stay close to your teammates, don't try to handle anything on your own, and… I don't know how to put this best, but… don't do anything _scandalous_, Naruto. Try to act conservatively at all times. Don't do anything to make yourself stand out."

Naruto frowned harder the longer the old man talked. This was going to be… difficult. Excruciating, even, to use a word that Dog had defined for him last week (they'd been discussing sealing and what could happen to your face if you triggered one the wrong way). But he nodded anyway, just to see the worry lines on Oji-san's face smooth away.

"You're a good kid," the Hokage said affectionately, ruffling his yellow hair and standing up to look at the rest of the group. "Send regular reports, even after you meet up with the other Konoha teams. Be smart. Be safe." He smiled down at Naruto. "And that goes for you most of all, squirt."

Naruto gave him a cheeky salute, and then they were well and truly off.

The day was sunny, but just a little on the cool side, and the breeze was blowing at their backs, kicking up dust on its way by. The big old trees encroaching on the road sighed, flashing the undersides of their leaves and tossing them into the road like a crowd throwing flowers to a war party. It was a perfect day for walking.

Naruto hated walking.

He held his tongue for several miles, looking anxiously up at each member of his team, hoping for some sign that soon they would start hopping through trees, or sprinting, or at least taking up a light jog. But they all moseyed along as if they had never heard of the word 'haste', and Naruto finally brought it up himself.

"We should race!"

His two 'team-mates' glanced back at him incredulously, while Jiraiya just snorted. "Kid, we've got a long way to go today, and a long way to go tomorrow. You need to conserve energy if you want to get anywhere."

Naruto frowned. "Then let's just run, and get a long _long_ way in one day. We'll get there twice as fast!"

"I don't think you understand how far it is from here to Iwa, gaki."

"I understand that if you want to get somewhere, it helps to _move_."

A vein began to throb in Jiraiya's temple. "Pipe down and enjoy the journey, kid! Look around, it's beautiful!" The angry tone in which he said it made the words ironic rather than inspiring.

Sighing to himself, Naruto decided to get some work in while they walked. For the next several miles, he strode out ahead of the group, taking running jumps with his kite and lifting off with bursts of chakra. Then he would circle back and coast in behind them before running forward to start all over again.

It was not unlike a dog who runs circles around a sedately walking master, getting in several times the mileage in the same trip.

The two genin watched him at this with rising and ebbing levels of amusement, cheering when he made a good takeoff or lifting particularly high, and laughing when he hit the dirt several yards behind them or landed in unusually placed shrubbery.

Jiraiya, looking skyward as if praying to the gods for patience, growled, "Naruto, every time you do that, every shinobi within in a five mile radius of us jumps and chokes on his sandwich. Do you have any idea how much chakra you're using?"

Naruto just grunted as he pelted by again. "Yep. It's a problem."

Jiraiya looked even more exasperated. "Then why are you doing it? Whatever it is you're trying to do, it's not even working!"

Naruto soared by overhead, cackling. "Seems like it's working to me!" Of course, Jiraiya hadn't seen Naruto's earlier accomplishment—jumping from the waterfall and flying all the way back to the village—and had no idea that Naruto wasn't trying for sustained flight at the moment. He was trying out different techniques for moving through the air, and with each attempt—each failure—he was that much closer to coming to his answer.

But Jiraiya just saw a kid wasting energy. "Look, unless you want a full patrol unit swooping down on us and possibly trying to retain us for questioning, you might want to _not_ spit out chakra like a god-dammed strobe light, don't you think?"

Naruto skidded in behind them again, cursing as he stumbled over a rough patch. "It's obvious we're from Konoha, isn't it? Do they investigate every time other ninjas use chakra?"

"_Other_ ninjas don't mold chakra with that kind of intensity or regularity unless there's a battle going on, which is what makes it so unnerving and worthy of investigation in the first place. So quit!"

Naruto's whiskered face took on a surly expression. "Well, what am I supposed to do, then? We're not running, and you guys aren't talking."

Hana, who seemed to be the most willing to humor the high-strung kid, asked, "What would you like to talk about, Naruto-_sama_?"

Naruto blinked at her teasing, hoping it meant she wasn't mad about the wolf situation. That thought led him to notice something else. "Hana, where's your puppy?"

"Haimaru?" She asked, a wistful expression crossing her face. "I had to leave him home. The 'Wolf Clan' of Konoha is too well recognized, and the Hokage thought it would be a bad idea to call attention to ourselves that way in Iwa. Especially since Haimaru is so little still."

Naruto scratched his cheek, considering this. "But… your face tattoos…don't those give you away too?"

She nodded appreciatively. "Good question. But lots of clans that have special contracts with beast clans have them. Not all of the tattoos in my family are the same, I'm sure you've noticed. Some families even have them for other reasons."

The red haired boy spoke up, pointing at the stripe over his eyes. "My family does it, and we don't have a beast contract."

Naruto opened his mouth, realizing he still didn't know the boy's name, when Jiraiya spoke. "My family has had a pretty tight association with the toads for a long time—not the same as the Inuzuka by any means, but different from the average contract. Hence our stripes."

"What do they mean?" Naruto asked, curious. He had often wondered where the whisker-like markings on his own face had come from. Maybe his family—whoever they had been—were a beast clan?

"Different things," Hana said. "Mine simply mark me as an adult of the clan. If you joined the clan, for example," she added, carefully not looking at him, "you would probably receive the dot over each eye signifying you were an honorary or adopted member."

Jiraiya glanced between them, noting her odd tone and Naruto's painfully neutral expression. The old man knew enough about the kid to know that Naruto's face was _never_ neutral. But if the moment stretched longer than was comfortable, no one commented.

The conversation lapsed, and soon Naruto was getting fidgety again. He fiddled with the massive kite; he walked on his hands for a respectable distance and even conned the red-haired boy into joining him; he threw every rock in the road as high into the sky as he could. He had just begun hopping up and trying to mold chakra out his feet—to mixed results—when Jiraiya finally snapped. "For gods' sakes, you hopped-up crack-ball of psychedelic-orange colored crazy! Take a break, would ya?!"

Naruto scowled at the big man. "Well what am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know!" the Sannin said, flailing his arms. "Figure it out! Find some way to entertain yourself!"

"That's what I was—"

"Hey Naruto," interrupted Hana, heading the confrontation off. "I'll tell you about the plants we pass on the road, if you want." Naruto gave her a dubious glance before she explained. "I can tell you which ones are really useful, which ones are poisonous, which ones you can eat…"

Looking slightly more interested despite himself, Naruto tilted his head. "Okay…"

Jiraiya shook his head, relieved and exasperated. His pounding headache from the night before surely wasn't helping, and it might have just been the hangover, but he had a pit of dread in his stomach that was only growing. _He used to be so cute, _the Sannin lamented. _He used to hang on every word I said! What happened?_ All he knew was that this trip was, more and more, exactly _not_ what he'd signed up for. _Damn you, Sarutobi._

Ooo

"Damn you, Sarutobi!" growled the old woman. Koharu, his one-time teammate. He watched the spit fly from her mouth—so furious was she—and all he could think was that once, long long ago, he had loved this woman. She had been a real beauty, full of spirit and integrity.

But she'd changed. Or maybe he'd changed her. He sometimes wondered if he was cursed—so many people had died around him. But the worst for him were the ones who never went away—they just twisted and faded in spirit. Orochimaru. Jiraiya and Tsunade. Homura. Koharu. She had been shining and incorruptible, and now she was screaming at him, demanding the death of a child.

Perhaps he had pushed her away, like he'd pushed away his wife, and Asuma, his oldest son. Perhaps he had lived too long, to see his mistakes come full circle as they had. He gave a weary sigh. "I am _tired_ of having this discussion with you two. You have made your opinions quite clear—they have been duly noted...and _discarded_."

She straightened as if he'd slapped her, and Homura stiffened in the dimness behind her. Koharu's response was a hiss. "You… arrogant bastard. You would let the demon traipse its poor sham of a puppet all over the earth, doing as it pleases…and Konoha will burn. You will be the end of this village, you _senile_ old man."

"You and I are the same age, Koharu. And I am not the one who wants to spill innocent blood."

"Innocent!" she spat. "Innocent! It resides behind a thin _shell_, and though the child may be innocent, his life was forfeit the very moment your gods-praised Yondaime made of him the abomination he is today. We are not Suna. We are not Iwa. We are not _Kumo._ We do not create and shelter _monsters_!"

"Apparently we _do_," Sarutobi replied, staring at her.

She would have struck him then, he was sure, if Homura hadn't stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's not worth it," he murmured.

Sarutobi's heart ached. It wasn't worth trying to see the other side of the picture. It wasn't worth trying to see the life of a boy above the demise of a demon. It wasn't worth all the years they had laughed and bled and cried for each other. They had been a team once—just they three against the rest of the world. It hurt to stand against them. But he would not waver or stumble. If he didn't stand up for Naruto, then who would?

No one. Against the unbridled will of the council, he would be a babe in a storm.

As his two oldest friends walked silently away, he said nothing. He didn't try to convince them. He had tried it before, and all he could say was '_he is not' _to their '_he is'_, and neither side had any proof one way or the other. He could go on about what a truly good, strong, noble person Naruto was until he was red in the face, and it would mean nothing to them without hard proof, and hard proof did not exist. He could not bend for them. So he let them go.

Ooo

The first night they spent in an outpost was an educational experience for Naruto. It was a lot like it sounded—an unmanned little building, back from the road a ways and marked by a stack of stones with the Konoha leaf painted in red. The trail leading to it was densely overgrown with summer grass and paintbrush flowers and creeping maples. If it weren't for the stone 'cairn', as Jiraiya called it, Naruto might never have noticed the path at all.

The outpost itself was built up high in the canopy of pines, supported between a pair of them, and though the silvered wood marked the building's age, it stood just as sturdily as the day it was built.

They scaled the trees just as the sun was setting, and found the door a bit rusty. But the interior was clean, the six bunks were fresh, and a faint smoky scent hung in the air. There was even a fireplace, snugged up against the trunk of the big tree and insulated with a stone chimney, and a stack of fresh tinder next to it. The windows were narrow—easily defendable, Jiraiya said—but they were pointed east and west to let in the maximum light.

"Boy, we're roughing it now," the red-haired boy muttered, rolling out his sleeping bag on one of the bunks.

Naruto was too busy looking around with delight to make a point of asking for the kid's name. This was better than his apartment, and for most of the year, nobody used it!

"Hate this stretch of road," Jiraiya was muttering to himself, unpacking the dinner utensils. "Not a brothel or bathhouse in living memory…"

Naruto frowned at that, wondering what a brothel was and why the big shinobi needed a bath after only one day on the road. However, he was quickly consumed with the problem of propping up his kite in the tiny quarters, and running out of ideas. Even collapsed as it was, it took up an awkward amount of space.

"Kid," Jiraiya warned, after Naruto smacked him on the head for a second time.

"Sorry, it's just big," Naruto said unnecessarily. He turned to the Sannin with a bright look, accidentally whacking him again. "Neh, Jiraiya-sensei. You should teach me something tonight!"

"I—agh!—I have a good idea what it'll be, too. Just hand me the rice from your pack and—gah—put that thing outside for now, will ya?"

Naruto enthusiastically complied with both requests, brimming with excitement over what awesome secrets the big shinobi might impart.

They all pitched in to make the simple dinner of fried rice and vegetables with gusto. And though it was made with egg mix and dehydrated veggies, after a long day of travel and a surprising level of chakra depletion, it was one of the best meals Naruto had ever eaten.

After they had cleared and scraped their plates, to be washed in the nearest stream tomorrow morning, Jiraiya pulled out ink and scrolls and began to tell the three about Fuinjutsu.

To Naruto's surprise, this was something that Hana and the red-haired kid knew almost nothing about—from his own talks with Dog, he was just a smidge ahead of them. So it happened that Jiraiya found an audience of three who happened to be both attentive and ignorant: his favorite combination.

The big shinobi sat cross-legged in front of a blank scroll, sleeves rolled up and inked brush poised. He looked up at them, expression grave, and spoke in a voice dripping with portent. "Before we begin, I'd like you three—yes, _all_ three—to know that Fuinjutsu is a highly sought after art, and there are very few who could call themselves _versed_, let alone masters, of the discipline. Even the meanest ounce of knowledge is precious, and there are not many who would pass on their knowledge lightly. So consider yourselves deeply fortunate that I have deigned—Naruto, stop yawning, dammit!"

Naruto clapped his jaw shut.

Jiraiya gave a growling sigh. "Yes, deeply fortunate that I… that I… Ah, the hell with it. What kinds of seals are you all familiar with?"

"Warding seals," Hana volunteered. "Medical seals, and concealment ones."

"Exploding tags," the red-haired kid spoke up with understandable enthusiasm.

Naruto tapped his chin, thinking about Dog. "Summoning seals. Containment seals. Pocket-dimension seals. Open and closed cycle seals… multipliers, siphons, element manipulators, flash and timed triggers, grounders, self-sustaining—"

"Whoah, whoah, whoah," Jiraiya interrupted, waving his hands while the other two laughed in surprise and incredulity. "That's getting a little ahead of things. You're getting into classes and components there, turbo. Let's stick with the basics for now."

"You're a weird little kid, Naruto," said Hana, still laughing.

Naruto sat back and crossed his arms, embarrassed and pleased at the same time.

Jiraiya gave him a bemused glance before clearing his throat and setting brush to parchment. "The base of every seal is a circle. Even if you can't see it, it forms the structure upon which everything else is built…"

Ooo

Sarutobi made his way to the top of the Hokage Monument that evening, his breathing slow and steady, for a chance to clear his head and remember why he was doing all this. He found his favorite rock and eased himself down to sit. It was just above the stone visage of his own face, which, ironically enough, happened to be the highest face of the four. He laughed bitterly at that.

The highest of the four? He was the one who'd been left behind. The old steward, sweeping up the fractured remains of the great and terrible deeds of the others. He shook his head. _I become much too morbid without my idiot student or the kid around. _

It was difficult not to. He was being pressured from all sides with demands and questions from the other Kages, and even several Daimyos. The Beast Realm was fragmenting. Not in a literal sense, as far as he could tell, but in a very similar way to the Shinobi Nations. And the beasts were not lining up with their ninja counterparts. The apes weren't talking, the toads weren't talking, and the wolves of Konoha had forsaken the Beast Realm long ago. Contracts were expiring and, if trends continued, they would slip from shinobi hands all together.

And that was just the start of it. Demons… reports of minor demons were springing up everywhere. A minor demon was a tricky thing to identify on the best of days—impossible for most people. Sarutobi himself had never seen one, and wouldn't know a demon from a teapot unless it told him. But the sheer number of reports… it had to mean something. Gods, it was frustrating.

And everyone seemed to think that _he_ was the go-to man for information. As if he didn't have enough work running the presumed 'most powerful' hidden village in all the shinobi nations, he had every other political and military leader banging down his door to find out what the hell was going on. And why should he know? Because he was 'The Professor?'

He'd never studied summoning to the same extent as, well… any of his students, and even _their_ students. But with that second generation mostly a smudge in the history books, and his own students MIA, he was the only resort. The one they should have been haranguing was Orochimaru. If anyone knew about the Beast Realm and demons both major and minor, it was him.

Orochimaru. His greatest student. His greatest mistake.

A chill wind blew from the north, shivering across his shoulder blades, and a crunching step made him turn.

As if the mere thought had summoned him, the familiar shape loomed in the dusk. Long and tangled black hair whipping in the wind across a ghostly-white face, with that cruel smile and those glinting snake eyes... "You're getting sloppy, Sarutobi-sensei," purred the oily voice.

"I may be old, but I'm still more than a match for you, Orochimaru-_chan._ I can tell you're a damned mud-clone."

"I have to keep checking, don't I?" the sneering face rejoined. "One of these days you'll slip, and I'll have you, old man."

Sarutobi smiled, but the expression was tight on his face. "Kindly return to the cesspool that you crawled out of, creature."

A flash of malice glinted in those snake eyes. "How's Minato's brat doing these days, _sensei_? Had any more misadventures down in the Uchiha tunnels?"

Sarutobi's jaw tightened. With a flash, a kunai buried itself in the clone's throat. It gave a last burbling laugh, sputtering through the hole in its throat, before slowly falling apart into a slop of mud.

Sarutobi gritted his teeth against the tremble in his hand as he stooped to retrieve his knife. Wiping it off stoically on his sleeve, he returned it to its holster and took his seat once more.

Orochimaru. He visited in this fashion almost monthly. And Sarutobi put him down the same way every time. He hadn't told the council. He hadn't told his advisors. He hadn't even told Jiraiya, the man who likely deserved to know more than anyone. Sarutobi could handle it.

Until the day he couldn't.

And he feared that day loomed ever closer. The memory of his student standing in the growing night hung over him like a dark pall, and he couldn't stop his hands from trembling.

Ooo

"You goddammed stinkin, cheatin, lying BASTARD!" Naruto shouted, pointing a furious finger at one Gallant Jiraiya of the Sannin.

Despite those fighting words, Jiraiya only snickered from his bedroll. "I only said I'd teach you how to seal it, not unseal it. You're the Fuinjutsu master—you figure it out." And with that, he rolled over, showing Naruto his back.

"Graaaah!" Naruto yelled with impotent rage, flinging down the little scroll.

"Don't damage it," the big shinobi mumbled. "You might not be able to get it out again."

Naruto seethed, ignoring the muttered complaints from his two teammates who were still asleep. In all fairness to them, it was barely the crack of dawn, but that was when Naruto liked to get up, and today he'd had something special in mind. Something special that involved a certain kite which a certain Sannin had helped him seal into a scroll the night before. Naruto had been thrilled—no more lugging around that big, awkward thing when he wasn't using it! The only problem was, Jiraiya hadn't told him how to get it out again, and it didn't appear that he planned on doing so any time soon.

Naruto mightily resisted the urge to kick his sensei—he might need to beg later, after all—and kicked the door open instead, jumping unceremoniously to the forest floor with a heavier (and more satisfying) thud than an eight-year-old should have been capable of.

After pummeling the sap out of a few unsuspecting trees, Naruto plopped down at the base of the outpost's pine and pulled out the scroll. The forest all around was still wreathed in mist, and dew settled fresh over every surface. He could see his breath steaming, and the morning sun lit the air in almost solid bars of light through the trees.

He could figure this out. He just had to calm down and think about it. Didn't help that Jiraiya was such an insufferable old butt-crack, though.

He puzzled over the forms of the seal, recognizing the different arrays that contained the space, located and held the object, connected the space to the scroll, and locked the seal until…What? Did he have to release it somehow? Or was it a summoning seal? He chewed a finger in contemplation, afraid to try anything lest he destroy the whole thing.

A rustling in the brush forced him to look up. There was an old man coming through the trees with a big pack on his back, and… _Wait,_ Naruto thought, squinting. Something was strange about him. Naruto stiffened just as the man looked up and noticed him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize—"

"Stay back!" Naruto shouted, leaping to his feet and whipping out a pair of kunai. The face he saw was not the face of a kindly old man—it had bulging yellow eyes with weird, horizontal pupils, a freakishly wide mouth and slick green skin with swirling patterns of bold red. The long, trailing mustaches mirrored the human mask, but everything else seemed to defy logic that it would fit underneath those normal features.

The old man—or whatever he was—seemed surprised for a moment, but then understanding flitted across his features. In the next instant it was gone again, replaced by a greater degree of surprise. "How can you—"

"Naruto!" A half-awake Jiraiya landed beside him, looking ready for battle and not too happy about it. "What happened?"

Hana and Red-hair were poking their heads out of the door high above, looking equally confused.

"Sensei—!" Naruto began, pointing at the old man. But then he realized something. Jiraiya and Hana and Red-hair—they had all seen the old man, and passed him by, looking for a threat. They didn't…they couldn't see what he saw. He swallowed. "It's…this old guy just startled me. Sorry," he directed the apology to everyone.

They all sagged, and Jiraiya cuffed him on the back of the head. "Baka. You're too jumpy."

Naruto only eyed the 'old man' while Jiraiya stumbled back up the tree, and wondered what he should do. Before he could make a decision, the bizarre-looking creature gave him a slight bow and a wink before turning and hiking up the path from whence he'd come.

Naruto let himself down with a thump, eyes wide. There was only one explanation. He was going crazy.

Ooo

Five days later they had arrived at the border between Fire Country and Grass Country. Five days and a field-guide worth of plant identification, enough Fuinjutsu to make the young trio dangerous, several disturbing new variations of old techniques courtesy of Naruto (namely, the fire-starting technique, the wood-chopping technique, and the water-purifying technique—Jiraiya had been pressured to teach the kid nothing outside of survivalist basics, but he couldn't be held accountable for Naruto's own permutations), zero bathhouses, and too many rustic camp areas to count.

Needless to say, they were all looking pretty rough and smelling less than rosy, and each was eager to gain entrance to the sprawling border town.

"Unfortunately," Jiraiya said, peering down at them all. "Naruto, you can't go across the border looking like that."

Naruto scowled at him, still sore over his sealed up kite. "What do you mean?"

"You're too…" he made an indistinct gesture. "Midgetty."

"Well you're too _old_ but we don't make a big deal of it!" Naruto shot back sourly.

The other two snickered, but quickly sobered at Jiraiya's expression.

"This is where we start pretending you're a chuunin hopeful, kid," Jiraiya clarified, raising his eyebrows significantly.

Naruto gave him a blank look, apparently satisfied to wait for the answer.

"Henge," Jiraiya supplied.

"Eh?"

Jiraiya nearly fell over. "You've never...? Kid, the gaps in your knowledge are… bizarre, to say the least."

But, despite the fact that they were dirty and tired and crouched at the border like a flock of vultures, Naruto received his first lesson in transformation jutsus right then and there. By the time he had the basics down, the sun was dipping in the sky, but he could do a fair impression of Jiraiya and Red, and a rather suffering impression of Hana.

"Well, you won't be posing as any girls any time soon," Jiraiya muttered.

Naruto was hardly listening to the big shinobi—his head was too cluttered with wicked and brilliant schemes that had not been possible before. Why hadn't anyone told him about this jutsu? _Probably,_ a sensible part of his brain said—the part that wasn't his normal voice or the evil one that spoke up intermittently—_they were afraid of everything you're planning right now._ He hated to agree with that sensible voice, so he ignored it.

"All right, let's try to create a persona for you," Jiraiya was saying. "Now this might be tricky, since it has to be an invented henge, and it will be one you'll have to recall over and over."

Naruto nodded, focusing once more.

Jiraiya seemed satisfied. "Okay, to start off, let's just try for an older version of yourself. Just imagine what you might look like taller, leaner—not that you've got any skin to spare, you sad little sack of bones..." he trailed off as Naruto cast him a dark glance before concentrating.

With a familiar poof, Naruto tried to reorient himself from his new, taller position in the world. It was a strange feeling—he wasn't truly this tall, but somehow his senses rearranged themselves to fit a bigger frame.

Because of this, it took him a moment to notice the expressions of his companions. Hana and Red were frowning in a detached way—the sort of look a person might wear if they were trying to remember something they could _almost_ grasp.

Jiraiya's face had gone blank at first, and then slowly paled. His eyes went wide in a way that made Naruto's veins run cold. It was the face of someone seeing their worst fear, or a ghost come back to haunt them. It was denial and horror and realization.

The man's mouth finally moved. "Oh gods," he whispered. Then he seemed to remember where he was and who he was looking at. Blinking hard, he swallowed and managed to say. "That's…not good… No. That's very bad." He pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment, turning away.

_Gods, I must really suck at this,_ was all Naruto could figure. With a 'pop', he released the henge and appeared again as his usual eight-year-old self. "What did I do?" he asked, afraid of the answer.

Jiraiya looked at him, and relief seemed to flood his face. "Naruto! Ah…try it again, but with brown hair and…oh, black eyes. Maybe a bit shorter."

Naruto screwed up his face, trying commit the details to memory. With a nod, he disappeared in a poof of mist. Whatever Jiraiya saw in the new persona, it seemed to satisfy him. He even quirked a bit of a smile.

"Now you look like an Uchiha," Hana commented, grinning wryly.

"Can we go now?" Naruto asked impatiently.

"Voice," Jiraiya reminded him.

Naruto frowned. "Should I just make up one?"

"Use someone you know," Red suggested.

"Okay, let's go. I'm friggin starving," Naruto harped in Uchiha Itachi's voice.

Ooo

Somewhere over the rooftops of Konoha, the real Uchiha Itachi was seized by a debilitating fit of sneezes.

ooo

ooo

ooo

**A/N: **Well, I hope the plot is keeping you all on the edge of your seats! For those of you wondering where its all going, hopefully there was a chunk in there that helped a bit (see: Hokage's expository chunk of DOOM). And I hope Orochimaru was sufficiently creepy, and the Hokage sufficiently old and sad about life (because that's the way I would imagine he'd be--think about it, he was supposed to retire with his old friends and family a long time ago D: ). Uh, yeah, I'm gonna stop myself there before I end up going back and talking about my thoughts for every little paragraph. Rememba, folks, long, juicy, harsh critiques are goooohohohold. :D


	8. Poke the Anthill

Ooo Chapter 8: Poke the Anthill ooO

_ Sensei,_

_We reached the border of Kusa without any trouble. Kid is still a brat—I honestly don't know how you put up with him from day to day without at least trying to strangle him. And he's been acting oddly the last couple of days, especially when we stop in larger towns. Really jumpy and suspicious. Like a normal ninja, instead of his usual 'puppy who would follow anyone home' bit. But you were right—everywhere we go, the kid pulls people in like moths to a flame (pardon the cliché). I don't think Yamanoue will be a problem, unless there's something you haven't told me._

_Speaking of things you haven't told me, old man. We need to talk. Long and seriously, about this kid. I had him put on a henge yesterday—told him to try looking a little older. He looked…remarkably like someone we used to know. I swear to the gods I thought he had come back from the dead for a moment. So we need to talk, because you've been keeping something from me. You've been keeping something from all of us._

_ -The Toad Sage_

ooo

Kusa. The land of grass. It stretched from one horizon to the other, the pale gold of late summer, rippling like waves on a shallow sea. Storm clouds rolled across the wide open sky, steel grey and dark blue, and the rain falling hundreds of miles away might have been two miles for all the difference the distance made. The air was filled with a near constant rumble as lightning storms touched down, jagged cracks of light across the darkened sky, and the scent of ozone and rainwater flew on the wind.

Naruto was in love. Never had he seen such wild, untamed beauty as the torrential skies and rolling grasses of Kusa. Konoha was surrounded by trees that disguised the landscape and blocked the sky, muffling the wind and sheltering the village.

Here, he felt as if he might just be plucked from the earth at any moment by the buffeting winds, and it filled him with a reckless joy. He would have given his right arm to take to the skies.

But…his kite was still sealed up. He would have just made a new one by now if he'd had the supplies. But none of the towns along their route had even _sold_ wood—apparently it was in short supply out here on the plains. So Naruto could only simmer in his healthy resentment of Jiraiya and watch the storm clouds roll by.

**Make your frame with his bones and stretch his leathery old skin over them,** suggested his _other _voice. **_Those _****would be colors worth flying.**

_Shut up, you,_ Naruto responded automatically. He would have been horrified with himself for the gruesome mental image, but he was coming to the conclusion that he wasn't responsible for the other voice. Whether that meant he was crazy, had two personalities, or something else equally bizarre, he hadn't figured out yet. But whenever he tried to ask the other voice, he was met with flat silence. That always made him wonder if he really _was_ just talking to himself, but quickly reasoned that it was probably what the voice wanted him to think.

Inevitably, he would be so freaked out by the whole thing that he'd stop trying to think about it all together, and that was exactly what he was now endeavoring to do.

His team had stopped to camp with a small yurt village tonight—the clan was nomadic, and they picked up to move the big leather tents and their herd of wooly oxen every week. The yurts were pitched in a slight bowl, forming a half ring around their beasts, and a large cook-fire was already burning.

Naruto had perched himself up on a grassy rise, far away from the warmth of firelight, having decided to get in a good bout of brooding while the sun went down behind the storm. Of course, he never really could work up a good brood, and his brain had almost immediately turned instead to its favorite topic—flying. It was becoming an obsession, and he would be the first to admit it.

But ever since his talks with Dog, it seemed more… important. If he could figure this out, then he could figure anything out. He would be able to do all sorts of things that nobody thought he was capable of—that nobody had even _imagined._ Maybe then… maybe then he'd be somebody. Somebody worth noticing. Somebody worth admiring.

He knew that, underneath it all, _that _was the real reason he did the things he did. Why he was always coming up with new schemes, poking people who got too comfortable—shaking up the world when they least expected it. Because it was either that, or… no one would see him at all. He would disappear, cease to exist. If he let them ignore him like they seemed to be so intent on doing, then he would just be a shadow at the edge of everyone else's existence. He'd fade away and no one would notice.

So he'd_ make_ them notice. One way or another. He wouldn't become a ghost.

He just wasn't sure what the best way to do it was.

He glared up at the billowing storm clouds, and watched the flicker of heat lightning jump through them. The sun was now long gone, and the rolling hills of grass had become dark and indistinct as details faded from the world.

"Hey, Naruto," Hana said, trudging up to the top of his little ridge. He couldn't see her face, but her voice was easily recognizable. "Mind if I join ya?"

"No," he replied, trying not to sound anxious. It was surprisingly easy to do in Uchiha Itachi's voice. He hadn't really talked to her alone on this journey—and it was entirely intentional. "What's up? S'it dinner time?"

"Not yet," she said with a snort. "Apparently your _sensei_ is lactose-intolerant—" she punctuated this news with a sly wink in his direction, "—and, well, they're herders. They make their alcohol out of milk, for cripes' sake. And let me tell you, he was _not_ happy about that."

Naruto's eyes lit up with malice as he thought about all the wonderful ways he could repay his sensei's 'kindness.' "Lactose-intolerant, eh?"

Hana nodded, pretending not to notice the treacherous undertones of their conversation. "So they're all having a big brouhaha about what to make. But that's not what I wanted to talk about."

Naruto swallowed. "You had something in mind."

"Naruto," she began, scooting nearer to him in the grass and peering closely at him. "Look, this is uncomfortable for me, so I'm guessing it's really eating at you. Basically…well, the clan knows. About the…proposition Kuromaru made to you."

"Oh," he said, heart sinking.

"Yeah. And, look, it's not your fault—Kuromaru should never have put you in such a compromising position, and my family—well, me and Kiba and Mom and Dad—we don't blame you or anything."

"But you don't want me to say yes, either."

She looked shocked. "You were going to say yes?"

Naruto recoiled, confused and embarrassed and slightly panicked. "Well—I don't know, maybe… I didn't want to say…well, I didn't want to offend anyone. I—"

"Naruto," Hana interrupted, gripping him by the shoulder. "It's okay. I was just surprised, is all. We—when we talked about it, we were just worried about how to get you out of this mess. The clan council is in a state of uproar—the wolf elders won't even speak to them."

"Oh man…" Naruto moaned, scrubbing his fingers through his currently dark hair, making it stand even more on end.

"Naruto!" she said again, shaking him slightly to get his attention. "If you want to do this, I want you to know that it's your decision. And whatever you decide, you've got my support. And you have Kiba's, too. I don't know how my parents feel about it, and…you're going to get a lot of opposition from some of the council. But you have a lot of people on your side too. And the wolves are unanimously in your favor." For a moment she looked impressed and a little jealous. "They really want you."

Naruto looked up at her helplessly. "I don't even know what it means. What will it be like? Will I live in the city, still? Will I get training? Will it be hard for…the wolf…my wolf?"

Her dark eyes filled with sympathy. "I don't know, Naruto. I can't remember anything like this happening before."

They both lapsed into silence; Naruto's thoughts were a maelstrom of confusion and indecision. But… it felt good to know that some people were on his side. He'd been more worried about Kiba's reaction, especially, than he thought.

"Naruto," Hana said after a moment. Her voice sounded confused. "You're solid."

He looked at her, frowning. "What do you mean?"

She poked him. "You're… solid. Your henge… it's not an illusion."

"Sure it is," he retorted, and with a 'poof' he released the jutsu. "See?"

"No—" she began, sounding frustrated. "Like this." With a similar poof, Hana disappeared, and Jiraiya's likeness appeared in her place. Naruto mourned the loss, while 'Jiraiya' said, "Okay, now try and touch my shoulder."

Naruto doubtfully reached up, but instead of encountering cloth, his hand phased right through. "Ah!" he blurted, snatching his hand back.

Hana released the illusion. "See? That's what a henge is _supposed _to do."

"That's just freaky!"

She shrugged. "To me, you're the freaky one. Put it back on."

Naruto complied, and the small, yellow-haired eight-year-old became a brown-haired thirteen-year-old once again.

Hana poked him once more. "Weird. _Weird. _Oh man, that's weird."

"Okay," Naruto said sourly, swatting her hand away and standing up. "Let's go see if they figured out dinner yet."

Ooo

Sarutobi was, first and foremost, a military leader. Konoha was, similarly, a military base that also happened to function as a village. And so, while there was a village council made up of clan heads and community leaders, there was also a military council which held the final authority when it came to matters of village, and national, security.

Morino Ibiki, head of Interrogation.

Yamanaka Inoichi, head of Counter Intelligence.

Nara Shikaku, captain of the reconnaissance and infiltration division of ANBU.

Akimichi Chouza, head of the Samurai Corps in Konoha.

Mitarashi Anko, second in command of Konoha's Black Ops and standing in for the old war-hawk, Danzou (who was currently preoccupied with his start-up program, Root).

Hatake Kakashi, Captain of ANBU and second only to one.

The Hokage himself, village head and final authority on all matters military and civilian.

They convened here in the War Room—an awfully grand name for a place which was, for all appearances, a large stone chamber with a long onyx table and little else. It was carved out of the center of the mountain overlooking Konoha, and completely hidden from eye except for from above. If one were to stand in the War Room and look straight up, one would see, instead of a ceiling, a smooth transition into the long vent of an extinct geyser, letting in sunlight from almost a hundred feet above.

It was majestic to say the least, and the only access to the Room and its various branches—Intelligence, Interrogation, security archives, and top-security cells—was through tunnels connecting to the Hokage Tower and ANBU headquarters.

Sarutobi imagined it was vanity rather than practicality that had lead the founders to build the place here, in the old caverns left behind by volcanic activity. Aside from the reflective surface of the onyx table, the room held only two red banners bearing the spiral-leaf of Konoha, fluttering slightly above each end of the table, and eight chairs—all occupied but one.

Sarutobi gazed at that empty seat with hollow regret. It had been the practice of each previous Hokage to name a successor before they were ready to step down, and spend the last years of their reign training the next in line. Many years had Sarutobi shared this table with the man who would later become the Yondaime—many good years. He could still picture him there, in the chair at the far end of the black table, sitting in the only spot where the sun managed to filter all the way down, lighting up that mane of hair like a halo of gold. He could see him laughing, touching the elbows of his fellows, standing over the table in his white robes, glowing with the hope and promise of the future.

Now it sat empty, and all that caught the bars of sunlight were motes of dust in the air.

Nara Shikaku was just finishing his report on the recent upswing of worrying political exchanges in Earth Country. Sarutobi had only listened with half an ear—he had been almost wholly focused on Iwa for the past month as it was, and there was little about the country, and its hidden village, that did not worry him. Though he was a Kage himself, he saw how the balance of power was tipping in the Tsuchikage's favor. The Daimyo of the Earth Country was well on his way to becoming little more than a figurehead.

"Thank you for your report, Nara-taichou," he said, bowing his head to the low-key young man. He snapped his gaze to the silver-haired Captain of ANBU. "Hatake-taichou, your report on the Uchiha situation, if you would."

The ANBU gave a sharp nod. "As you know, evidence thus far suggests the abduction was facilitated by an isolated faction within the Uchiha clan, and organized by an outside party. There is no indication that the clan heads were involved with or aware of the plan. We have been able to trace the chain of command to several sources outside the village, but since the last mission in July, we have made little ground on that front and have turned our attention inward. However, being that clan laws provide for a measure of security that an outsider such as myself cannot penetrate, I was obliged to go to an inside source."

"An inside source," the Hokage repeated flatly. Either he truly was getting senile, or he had distinctly told the jounin _not_ to alert the Uchihas to the investigation. "Who?"

"Vice-captain of the 33rd under my direct command, Uchiha Itachi. He has proven sympathetic to our cause." Then Kakashi leaned forward, and his voice changed. "Hokage-sama… he really is in the kid's corner."

"I know it," Sarutobi replied tiredly. At least, he really wanted to believe it. "What light has he been able to shed on the investigation?"

"It's been slim," Kakashi admitted. "Until the recent preparations for the festival on the 10th, we were afraid the trail had dried up. But Itachi thinks he's found evidence suggesting the clan heads _were_ involved, and that there are motions being made to stage another."

"Another what? Abduction?"

"Murder," the ANBU corrected grimly. "They aren't aware that the kid will be abroad for another two months. They think he'll be back in time for the festival."

"By the _gods_," Sarutobi growled, beginning to stand.

"Hokage-sama, there is no substantial proof," Kakashi said hurriedly. "We don't know anything for sure yet."

Sarutobi grudgingly sat back again, steepling his fingers. "Are they acting autonomously, or are they receiving orders from the outside again?"

"That would require a lengthy look at who might have reason to want the kid dead," Kakashi replied, brow furrowing. "Which… could take a while."

_You have no idea,_ Sarutobi thought. The weight of his great lie had never felt so heavy.

Ooo

Three days ago, the mountains had been a dark blue smudge hovering over the grass. A day ago they had been more easily recognizable—still massive, but still distant. Today Naruto could make out the paler blue of what Hana told him was _snow_, something they hadn't received in Konoha in decades. And though they'd been moving at a good clip over the endless grass—Jiraiya had, despite his 'old bones', finally acquiesced to a respectable fifteen mile-an-hour run—the mountains remained unchanging.

This lead Naruto to question just how big those mountains were—if they were _that_ big, when they were obviously still _really _far away, and their size didn't seem to change very much with each mile gained…well, the implications were fairly mind-boggling.

Fire Country was so named for a good reason—the spine of the country was littered with volcanoes. And while they had plenty of them, they were the only high spots, surrounded by low foothills. This mountain range they now approached was something altogether different—it was like one great impenetrable wall, miles high and craggy as the teeth of a wolf.

When he said so to Jiraiya, while they took a break to walk with a large caravan of travelers, the big Sannin had laughed and responded, "That's almost right. They call the mountains Tora no Shikon—the Tiger's Fangs."

"Are they really as big as they look?"

"Oh yeah," the man responded, taking on a grim expression. "It's going to be fun navigating the passes this time of year, too." He looked down at Naruto with a knowing expression. "Avalanches. Hopefully all of the major shelves have already slid—I nearly set one off the last time I came through—but we might have to traverse some pretty tricky areas. We'll stop in one of the towns near base elevation for some explosives."

"Explosives?!" His outburst earned him odd looks from other members of the caravan. Normally he would be the last one to naysay a good bomb or firecracker, but with the threat of being buried under tons of snow, it suddenly seemed like a very bad idea.

"You'll see," the big man said with a smirk. "It'll be fun."

"Can't we just make some pumped up tags or something?"

"Explosive tags?" Jiraiya echoed with an expression of distaste. "Where's the fun in that? Trust me kid, you ain't seen nothing until you've seen the pyrotechnic savvy of Earth Country. They call us the land of Fire, but we're just plain unimaginative when it comes to fireworks."

Naruto's sensible inner voice—the tiny one he imagined might be his conscience that was trying say the big man was a bad influence and that they were all going to die—was summarily stamped out as he caught Jiraiya's infectious grin.

"But, since you offered," the Sannin added, "you might as well get some practice in tonight. Fifty explosive tags—twenty flash, fifteen concussive, and fifteen of the good old-fashioned mushroom cloud variety."

Naruto scowled at the big man, his goodwill vanishing. "Child labor!"

"What are you talking about?" Jiraiya cried with exaggerated confusion. "I see no children here—I see a thirteen year old genin, a legal adult in the eyes of the law!"

"I hate you, old man."

Ooo

Sarutobi watched the kids race out into the schoolyard with a genuine smile on his wrinkled face. They were just finishing up their second week, and class was out for the day. He often came to check up on the newest class of shinobi students each year, but this class was a special case. These students would be the peers and friends of a certain yellow-haired, blue-eyed hellion, and he wanted to see how the boy would fit in.

He stood with the instructors, and watched the horde of kids disperse, to be collected by their parents one by one.

"How are they?" he asked no one in particular.

One of the instructors answered him. "A promising bunch—that little Uchiha, in particular, seems to be very focused for his age."

Sarutobi nodded along, not surprised. That would be Itachi's younger brother. "Any others?"

Another teacher spoke up. "The Nara boy is a little smartass. I can already tell he's too smart for his own good; he'll get lazy if we don't push him."

"There's one pair," said one of the younger instructors. "The Inuzuka, and the little pink-haired girl—I can't remember if she's in a clan or not—they seem to be exceptionally coordinated and quick-witted. They've been having a bit of trouble with some of the other students, though. I believe the Uzumaki boy's name has come up." This comment was spoken will a coolness that bordered on distaste.

"Ah," the Hokage responded. Before he could say anything else on the matter, two face-meltingly loud voices shouted, "Hokage-sama!"

He looked up to see the two 'trouble students' in question pelting toward him, and recognized them as two-thirds of Naruto's terrible trio. "Sakura-san. Kiba-san," he greeted them with gently chiding formality as they slid to a stop in front of him. "What can I do for you two?"

"Um, well," Sakura began, looking quickly at Kiba and then back up at him. "We were wondering if Naruto was okay. Because he was supposed to have another week _here_, and nobody's telling us anything—"

"Sakura, I assure you, Naruto is absolutely fine. He had to leave earlier than expected, on very short notice. His…well, his _chaperone_ has trouble with getting his details straight sometimes."

"See? I told you," Kiba said, elbowing the girl.

She scowled. "I'm gonna beat him up when he gets back. I was _worried_ that he'd _died_ or something, you know?"

"If you really must blame someone, Sakura, please blame me, as it was on my insistence that Naruto took the trip in the first place."

Sakura looked horrified at the very idea of blaming something on the Hokage, and hastily waved her hands in front of her. "No, it's okay! I'm just glad he wasn't kidnapped again."

Sarutobi nodded and leaned down conspiratorially. "To be honest, that was part of the reason I sent him off—he won't be here for—" he broke off as he realized what he'd been about to say. What was he thinking? He couldn't tell a couple of children that people were more likely to try to kill Naruto on his birthday! "Well, we're still investigating what happened last year."

If the two noticed his misstep, they didn't show it. "Do you think he's…uhm…_there_ yet?" Kiba's question was casually spoken, but all one had to do was look at his face to see how much he missed his friend.

"I appreciate the discretion, Kiba-san, and I would expect they'll arrive at their destination very soon."

"Do you really think he's okay? I mean, it's not dangerous where they're going, is it?" Sakura asked with open anxiety.

Sarutobi chuckled. He really, truly hoped that, just once, the planets would align and neither his idiot student nor his hyperactive boy would do anything too compromising. But… well. "As long as they don't do anything stupid, they'll be fine."

Ooo

Everyone who had heard of the Legendary Sannin knew that the formidable Tsunade loved alcohol. What they didn't know was that, while she could easily drink Jiraiya under the table, _he_ loved it just as much. All it meant was that she could hold her liquor, and he couldn't.

Traveling with Naruto was _hard_. The kid talked too much, and ran around too much, and his boundless energy cracked at the walls of Jiraiya's skull like a sixty pound sledge hammer.

Traveling through Kusa had been _torture. Fermented mare's milk_. What the hell kind of barbarians _were_ those people? Even if he hadn't been lactose-intolerant, he wouldn't have gone near the pungent brew. Alcohol was made from plant products. Fruit, vegetables, grains. Not… mare's milk.

So the first thing Jiraiya had purchased upon reaching the foothills of the Tora no Shikon was a big, beautiful skin of sake. And then he purchased some explosives. He'd been so proud of the brat, drooling--as he should have--all over the bins and racks of mortar shells and charges and crackers. Slowly but surely, Jiraiya would corrupt the kid in all the best ways. He was only eight now, but once he was old enough, he would be the perfect apprentice.

The first thing Jiraiya had done after setting up camp just outside the little town of Koketsu—a charming place, clinging to sheer rocks and bits of frozen sage in the shadow of the mountains, that served as base camp to travelers braving the pass—was crack open that skin of sake.

Then, because he thought it would be really funny, he told Naruto to do _that_ henge—the one where he looked like an old version of himself, and a young version of… someone else—and run into the town to scare the shit out of any shinobi from Iwa. What Naruto and the other two genin didn't know was that during the war with Earth Country, the man whom Naruto bore an uncanny resemblance to had single-handedly devastated Iwa's forces. From the end of the war until the Kyuubi attack, that man had been the most feared and hated shinobi in all of Earth Country.

If Jiraiya hadn't been drunk off his ass, he would have recognized what a horrible idea it was, but the little town wouldn't let 'foreigners' stay in their inn, so they had it coming. The three kids didn't know any better, and Naruto skipped off with a grin plastered across his face—Jiraiya had promised to show him how to unseal that thrice-damned kite, and the kid was fostering his own grudge anyway—chased the villagers around for a bit while his team watched from their hillside, and then he skipped on back. They all had a good laugh, and Jiraiya fell asleep next to the fire in his clothes, with the sake cradled lovingly at his side.

The next morning, they packed up and washed up as well as they could in the chill, dry air, and set off for the pass high above them. Jiraiya knew it would be a hard climb, even for a shinobi, and it would take them the better part of the day just to make the nearly eight thousand feet of elevation gain. He was in a hurry, and none of them had time to reflect on the night's festivities. If they had, they might have been keeping a sharper eye out.

Jiraiya had been talking the boy through the containment seal as they climbed, giving hints between each huffing breath. The air was quickly getting thinner and colder, and they had left the plains behind and far below. The sun was out and reflecting brightly against the snow all around, and soon they had all taken a page out of Red's book (a nickname Naruto had given the boy, and one Jiraiya had taken up, since he couldn't remember the kid's name) and painted a stripe of black paint across their eyes to cut down on the glare.

Jiraiya didn't want to simply tell Naruto how to do it flat out; he wanted the little kid to figure it out by himself. And, impressively, Naruto was steadily narrowing in on the answer. It actually helped him understand the mechanisms of seals even better, to have to solve it backwards this way.

"I get it!" Naruto announced suddenly, overjoyed. "It's spit! It's a summoning seal that needs spit!"

"Good job, kid," Jiraiya congratulated him. "Just wait until we get to the top to un—"

A sharp crack and a billowing plume of mist announced that Jiraiya had spoken too late. Naruto lofted the big, blazing orange kite above his head, crowing, "Kite, how I've missed you!"

"Kid," Jiraiya growled, before something zipped by, punching a hole in the material. "_Kid!_"

They all dropped to the snow as a hail of the objects flashed overhead, imbedding themselves in the icy crust.

"Shuriken!" Red shouted, holding one aloft.

But ducking would do little for them on this slope, nearing a forty-five degree grade as it was. "Move!" Jiraiya told them. "Head for the rocks, but do _not_, and I repeat, _do not_ stand downhill of them, or we might end up fishing your corpse out of a crevasse!"

They scrambled to obey, and Jiraiya turned to look down the slope in hopes of spotting their attackers. It wasn't very difficult. They were moving straight up the route, just coming into view over a minor crest of windswept rock. There were at least twenty of them, and Jiraiya could see the sun glinting off an equal number of hitai-ate.

They'd poked the anthill. Only one word could really sum up what he felt at that moment. "Shit."

ooo

ooo

ooo

**A/N:** Dang, you guys must've really NOT liked the last chapter. I can't really tell if the lack of feedback is a good thing or a really bad thing--on the one hand, it must be good to not be getting any negative comments, but... Iiii don't know what to think. I've got a story I want to tell, so it's not like I'm running on nothing but comments, but... even a yay or nay would be rad. So vat ees ze deal? Is it just that GOOD or is it just that BAD? Okay, so enough of me being lame and howling for reviews.

Are you guys suuuper stoked for the battle on the mountain? Against impossible odds--ridiculously outnumbered, against the home team, with crevasses under every step and avalanches just waiting to be set off--can they prevail?! Hooooowly shit, you shall find out soon!

Also, to SoulReaper14: Hopefully the answer to your question was made clear--Jiraiya wasn't afraid of Naruto's henge, but the implications of it. He doesn't know that Naruto is the Yondaime's son, and finding out something like that (or at least, suspecting it) would be pretty stressful for a guy who lost someone who was like son to him. Plus, he would realize that this kid, who lives alone and is treated pretty horribly is actually that man's son. Stressful! Hopefully that clears it up; totally didn't mean to be so ambiguous.


	9. And Run Like Hell

Ooo Chapter 9: And Run Like Hell ooO

Naruto didn't know how, but _somehow_, this was the old Sannin's fault.

He'd managed to grab his kite at the last second, and sealed it up as they ran—uphill and through the snow, no less—for the relative cover of the rocks. He glanced back to see Jiraiya apparently squaring up to fight all by himself, and his eyes traveled further down the steep slope to see a veritable small army advancing. _What am I doing? _he thought suddenly.

Without a second thought, he dropped his pack, stuffing the kite scroll in his pocket, and dashed back down. Each step slid in the light snow, and he zipped past Jiraiya at a high rate of speed. "Come on, old man!" he called. "I bet I can take out more of them than you!"

"Like hell you—_kid_!" came the angry response, already fading behind him. "This isn't a game!"

He knew it wasn't a game. They were outnumbered by at least six to one, and it was the enemy's home terrain. But he was going to be a shinobi, and shinobi protected other people. He could hear Hana and Red shouting his name, too, but he ignored them. If they wanted to talk, they'd just have to come down and fight with him.

As he raced down the steep slope, he took stock of his situation. He could move much faster toward them than they could toward him—he had the advantage of elevation. _Better try something ranged,_ he thought.

He slid to a stop and sent up a spray of snow that disguised his hand-seals. _When you're fighting in the snow_… "Katon: _Kiribi no Jutsu_!" What was ordinarily a tiny shoot of flame used to ignite bits of tinder, Naruto pumped with enough chakra to turn into a full-blown jet of fire that exploded from a white-hot point at his mouth and grew into a roiling inferno. It was barely able to reach the first ranks of enemy shinobi, and they quickly dropped to put out the flames, but it melted the surface of the snow, turning the crust into a glassy slab of ice.

Without wasting another moment, Naruto reached into his supply pouch and wrapped explosive tags around several kunai and sent them flying. They impacted the uppermost reaches of the thickest ice with concussive blasts. The weight became more than it could stand, and the whole thing cracked away from the slope and began to slide.

Naruto could hear the panicked shouts of those shinobi who could see what was heading their way and gaining speed: a massive plate that was pulling half the mountainside down with it and would slice them all off at the knees without even slowing down.

Naruto, who didn't want to _kill_ them, quickly flung several more kunai laden with explosive tags into the center of the roaring flow. The detonations rocked the whole hillside, blasting apart the ice into flying chunks that would only knock the shinobi out and bury them instead.

He quickly discovered he'd underestimated the Iwa shinobi, because a great swath of snow swept up and solidified in front of them, causing his own tumbling flow of ice and snow to ricochet up and over them in a bizarre wave.

But Naruto wasn't out of tricks, either. "Fuuton: _Wariki no Jutsu_!" The wind technique was commonly employed to chop up small pieces of firewood. Naruto used it to send several slicing wheels of wind howling down the hill, and the massive ice shield collapsed into perfectly dissected slabs.

"Holy shit, kid," Jiraiya marveled, having finally caught up. Hana and Red appeared behind him. "Now all we need to do is—"

It was Naruto's opinion that you should never say 'now all we need to do is,' because inevitably, something always happened to make completing that sentence impossible. Like having fifteen of your enemies suddenly appear, not crushed, as they should have been, but racing up the steep slope on stones that cut through the snow like it was water, while the remainder scrambled around down below as if they had big plans.

"Ergh," Naruto said, pulling out a pair of kunai. He wrapped another tag around one of them and flung it. As he suspected, the small blast sent one rock-surfing shinobi off course, but the woman quickly recovered.

He heard Jiraiya mutter to himself, "Either they really thought it was _him_, or they're just mad about being tricked… Any way you slice it, this is total overkill."

Naruto didn't have time to puzzle over that comment—he could see several of the fast approaching shinobi going through hand-seals. _Crap!_ He shouted, "_Jousuiki (_water filter_) no Jutsu_!" just as he heard Jiraiya bellow, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu: _Shitagama_ (Toad's Tongue)!"

Naruto's technique kicked in at the same time as Jiraiya's—a wide swath of hillside below them was suddenly _pulled apart_ as the snow separated from any contaminants, instantly turning the deep snow into a torrent of melt-water. At the same time a massive, fleshy tongue appeared under the team's feet just before dozens of pillars of rock shot out of the mountainside beneath them. The result was that Naruto, Jiraiya, Hana, and Red were slammed into the air, but shielded from the brunt of the damage, while fifteen Iwa ninjas suddenly found themselves fighting a waterfall of freezing runoff.

A wedge of stone was thrust up far down the mountain, protecting the other half of their forces, and the rush of water split to either side, running off harmlessly.

"Any ideas?" Jiraiya quipped as they hit the apex of their flight and began to descend toward the lumpy, pink mass.

"Why don't you summon a toad or something?" Naruto shouted.

"Can't—they don't do good in the cold. Probably would fall asleep."

"Great!"

"Hey, it's probably too late to really help," Jiraiya added, loud enough for all three kids to hear, "but you guys should hide your hitai-ate!"

Naruto had just enough time to think about what a shady guy Jiraiya was, before Hana threw a handful of shuriken with flash seals in an effort to slow the enemy down, and the four covered their eyes as the hillside lit up.

A second later they landed on the squishy tongue, and it dispersed in a gust of smoke. Most of the Iwa nin were picking themselves up—the hillside had melted through to the rocky scree beneath, and Naruto realized with disgust that _now_ the enemy had good footing. They rushed up the slope en masse, sending up new shoots of rock that forced Naruto's team to leap and dodge in an effort to avoid getting pulverized.

In the next moment the Iwa nin were on them, leaping through the pillars and swinging massive swords like they were yardsticks. Naruto's team scattered—Hana shouting, "_Shikyaku no Jutsu_!" with relish and tearing into their enemies like some kind of beast, Jiraiya spinning and laying down a swath of Iwa nin with needles raining from his hair, and Red whipping out a pair of long knives to dance and whirl between their bulkier adversaries like a panther in a herd of oxen. And Naruto—well, he learned the hard way that those swords weren't _just_ simple stone.

He got a good look at one as it swung upward toward his face—it was some kind of green jade flecked with black and red—just before, instead of dodging the strike as he thought he had, his entire body was clubbed with a rocketing swath of rock.

He landed hard against another column, wondering dazedly what the hell had happened and tasting blood. He had his question answered when the shinobi swung his green sword again, and stones sprouted in an arc that raced toward him.

Naruto flipped backward, landing feet first against the column, and sprung off just as the line of destruction toppled it. _He's controlling the rocks… he's channeling through that sword!_

A quick glance told him only three of the Iwa nin had weapons like that… but it was three too many. He leapt and darted between the columns of stone that jutted from the steep slope, some nearly horizontal while others intersected vertically, and mentally catalogued all of the techniques he knew. He couldn't think of anything that would help him. He couldn't melt stone—not yet anyway—he couldn't separate it like water, and he didn't think slicing up the swords would take away their ability to channel chakra through them. Though it couldn't hurt to try.

He reversed direction, bounced off a column, and leapt for another that jutted out sideways. The shinobi with the sword had never given up the chase, and Naruto spotted him with ease. Running toward the end of the pillar, Naruto went through the seals and panted, "Fuuton: _Wariki no Jutsu_!"

The shinobi swept his sword in an arc at his feet, and a stone rampart erupted in front of him. The wheel of wind chopped right through it, continuing on to slice into the ninja's raised sword before dissipating. The attack had taken a fair chunk out of the green stone, and with an irritated grimace, the Iwa nin knocked off what was left of the end of it before resuming his attack.

_Crap, now what?! _Another close call with rupturing stone jogged his brain. _That's it—if you can't destroy it, take it away! _He just had to get close enough…

When the next roaring slice of earth nearly bisected him, he whispered, "_Henge!_" Suddenly he was a simple hunk of snow that had gotten thrown into the air along with the rest of the debris. To the Iwa nin's eyes, he had disappeared, but in truth he rolled down the slope, right past the man's feet.

"_Kai!_" And there he was, springing up behind the shinobi. The man was already turning, but it was too late. With a chakra-powered kick, Naruto swept his legs out from under him, hearing an ankle crack, before leaping over his flailing arm and touching the sword. In the next instant Naruto had dashed away.

The Iwa nin tried to recover, falling to one knee and raising the sword for another slash.

"Nope," Naruto muttered, giving a yank. Attached to his chakra strings, the sword ripped from its master's fingers and sailed through the air, imbedding itself in the snow behind Naruto.

Whipping out his kite scroll, Naruto bit down on his finger and, using blood because he didn't have time for ink, scrawled another containment seal next to the one already there. In his haste, he wasn't sure that it was perfect, but he only wanted to keep the sword away from any Iwa nin. "Seal!" he shouted, and the sword flashed into the scroll, blazing a new kanji: Blade. He stowed the scroll away, saluted the downed ninja, and turned to rejoin the battle. _One down… twenty to go._

He had just dashed into the fray, engaging a pair of blessedly sword-less shinobi, when Jiraiya appeared at his back. "We need to end this like _right now_," the big Sannin told him, kicking an Iwa nin in the face with a wooden sandal.

"What do you mean?" grunted Red, dispatching another with the flat of his blade.

Jiraiya pointed down the mountain, toward the other half of the Iwa forces. Naruto had completely forgotten about them, but _they_ hadn't forgotten about his team. "See that? That's a support circle," the big man said, slamming his fist into the face of another ninja coming up from the side. "This is peaches, but if they pull off what it looks like they're trying to, we're going to be…well, use any euphemism you like, but we'll be dead."

"Aren't you supposed to be some kind of legend?" Naruto shouted, outraged.

"I could easily _kill _them all, but we can't do that!" Jiraiya shot back.

"Why not?" Hana roared, fending off a small group. The four were slowly being surrounded, and the distant 'support circle' of shinobi had begun to glow.

"Because Konoha can't handle another _war_ with _Iwa_, and this is quickly becoming a political incident!" Jiraiya whirled, grabbing Naruto by the shoulder. "Kid, I need you to take the three Salamander charges out of my pack and drop them up there—" and he pointed up to the near-vertical rise that shadowed their route up the pass. Thick shelves of wind-sculpted snow hung over the sheer rocks and folds of ice, ripe and ready to fall.

Naruto gaped. "You want me to… to drop an _avalanche _on you?"

"No, I want you to drop an avalanche on _them_—the rest of us will be miles ahead of them by the time you get up there, and they'll be…_almost _harmlessly buried!"

In the breath that Naruto hesitated, he felt wind being sucked past him, down the hill—toward the glowing circle. The ground began to rumble.

"Move!" Jiraiya shouted, and Naruto jumped into action. While Red and Hana continued to kick the proverbial snot out of any Iwa nin who got too close, Naruto pulled the three massive charges—it would be a ridiculous understatement to call them 'fireworks'—out of Jiraiya's pack, and clenched them by their fuses in his teeth. Unsealing his kite with a spit and a muffled "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" he quickly snapped the big struts open and strapped his arms in.

He met Jiraiya's eyes, and the big man gave him a nod. Naruto had never flown this high or this far before—not from a standstill, and not after fighting a battle. But it didn't matter. He nodded back with fierce determination, crouched low as he gathered his chakra in a rush of swirling wind, and jumped.

His first instinct was roll the air under the kite wings, just as he'd done that first time, and it pushed him upward at a dizzying rate. He sailed out as the sheer slope dropped away beneath him, and twitched his finger-grips to bank around toward the steep ridge with its blue-white load of snow. But his chakra was depleting at a ridiculous rate, and he quickly switched tactics, to an idea he'd gotten from chakra strings and water walking.

People couldn't walk on air because there weren't enough molecules in any given square inch to support the weight (per square inch) of a human body balanced on a foot, or so Dog had told him. But Naruto wasn't planning on stepping on it. He mentally cast out his chakra to _net_ the air—he only had to know approximately where the molecules were—and pulled. He did it over and over, in quick succession, and the result was a hazy blue blur that sent him rocketing through the air like he'd been shot out of a cannon.

It was difficult focusing on his slingshot technique with his chakra, while controlling the kite with his fingers and gripping the charges in his teeth. The cold wind whistled past, making tears leak out of his eyes, and the vast white ridge loomed ever closer with pulse-quickening speed. He knew a moment of panic as he realized he couldn't un-strap his arms to handle the Salamanders, but then inspiration struck. _Agh, this is going to hurt_. Between clenched jaws—after performing each half of the hand seals with his arms strapped in—he mumbled, "Katon: _Kiribi no Jutsu_."

With a burst of flame that licked out between his teeth, the fuses ignited, throwing sparks into his face. He reflexively let them go, recoiling, and they dropped through the clear air, disappearing with innocuous thumps into the bright snow.

Realizing what was about to happen, he almost dove after them, but it was too late, and he couldn't take it back now. Still he hovered, torn between wanting to prevent the coming disaster, and knowing that if he tried, he would get himself blow to smithereens. The ridge was so quiet. **Too late, kit,** rumbled his deep voice in warning. Naruto hastily wheeled away, a slightly hysterical countdown going in his head. _Four… Three… Two…_

The shockwave caught his kite and sent him flipping through the air, and the sound deafened him shortly after. A roaring, screaming inferno briefly engulfed the ridge, and somewhere in the back of his mind, as rockets and sparks whistled past him, Naruto mourned that it wasn't nighttime—it surely would have been a magnificent display.

Like a slowly waking beast, the mountainside sluggishly cracked, and then much further down it buckled. Then with startling abruptness, the whole ridge collapsed. With an unearthly roar, and a rumbling that even Naruto could feel, the mass of snow and ice thundered down the slope, picking up speed with horrifying alacrity.

He flew ahead of it, buffeted by the ripping gusts of displaced snow and air, and tried to spot his teammates. They were _there_—just ahead of the Iwa nin, but as Naruto tried to gauge where the avalanche would strike the route, his blood ran cold. _They won't make it_.

He was going to have to catch them. Pulse pounding in his head, he rocketed toward their fleeing backs. The avalanche was biting at his heels—soon it would overtake them all—and in the next heartbeat he was nearly on top of them. At the very last second, he switched gears. He cast his chakra net to snag his teammates while rolling the air beneath his kite in a burst of heat, and it was like splitting his mind in two. It was almost too much—they were heavy, and he was dangerously low on chakra. But he poured the last of it on, wrenching them off the ground and shooting upward just as the avalanche crashed down.

The snow and ice in the air made it impossible to see where he was going, and he sliced through the billowing clouds with increasingly spotty vision. He was going down—he knew it instinctively. But he was too tired to care. With a last grunt of effort, he flung his three teammates as far as he could, hoping they'd land clear of the devastation. And then he fell.

He was out before he ever hit.

Ooo

"…not saying that—all I'm saying is that it's not _normal_…"

Just once—just one time—he really wanted to stay awake all the way through a fight. That would be nice. He wearily sat up, pushing away the mounds of blankets that were covering him, and took a moment to let chill, fresh air wash over him.

"Agh, he's doing it again," someone nearby muttered. It sounded like Red.

"What a weird kid he is." _That_ had definitely been Jiraiya. "Just make sure to pull the blankets over him again when he lays back down."

Naruto snapped his eyes open to glare at his comrades, but found they weren't even looking at him. Slightly disappointed, he took the opportunity to take in his surroundings instead. It was hard to see in the dim light, but he saw that they were in a round little building, built out of massive, roughhewn stones that he could tell had been mortared together in the same shape they'd first been picked up, lichen and all. The low ceiling was made of wooden slats and logs that angled upward toward a rough hole in the center. His teammates were huddled around a little fire they'd built in the sturdy fire-pit in the floor, and its smoke was twisting up through the hole. It was dark and cozy inside, but the leather flap that passed for a door was blowing in and out, and he could see that outside was totally white. He frowned. Last he remembered, they didn't have a cabin. And they hadn't possessed firs or copper pots or woven ox-wool rugs, either.

"Where the hell are we?" he spoke up, and everyone jumped.

"He's never done that before…" Red said in a wary tone, pausing the sharpening of one of his big knives.

Jiraiya clambered to his feet and crossed the fire to lean down and snap his fingers in front of Naruto's face. Naruto promptly smacked them away with a scowl. "What are you _doing_?"

"Oh my gosh, Naruto!" Hana cried, jumping to her feet. "You're awake!"

Naruto struggled mightily to keep the scowl on his face as she buried him in a hug. "What part of 'where the hell are we' made you guys think I was asleep?"

"You keep doing all kinds of weird stuff, man," Red told him. "Sittin' up, walkin' around, talking to yourself—you've been saying some _crazy _shit—"

"Naruto," Jiraiya interrupted, crouching next to him. "You've been unconscious for almost three days."

Naruto blinked. Three hours, he might have been able to wrap his head around. But three _days_? He squinted at them. "You're lying."

"Go look outside, if you don't believe us, kid," Jiraiya said with a shrug. Naruto jumped up to do just that, padding across the wool rugs in nothing but his boxers and a t-shirt to peek out the door flap.

A blast of snow slapped him in the face, and he could see just enough to recognize a crisp line of rock, and empty air beyond it. Nearby, along the spine of the ridge, there were other cairn-like structures with wisps of cook-smoke rising above them, and lines of light around their doors. If he hadn't known any better, he would have identified them as part of the wind-blasted ridge.

Well… it certainly _looked_ like they were surrounded by mountains, and it certainly _seemed_ like they were much higher in elevation than they had been.

He ducked back inside, beginning to shiver, and Hana pitched a thick blanket at his head. He wrapped up in it gratefully, and stared at his teammates. His mind flashed through his last minutes of consciousness, and he could hardly believe they were all standing there. "So I guess we made it."

"Thanks to you," Red admitted with a grudging smile. "They would've been hauling us out of there in chum-buckets if you hadn't swooped in at the last second."

Hana made a disgusted sound at the redhead's choice of metaphor.

Red ignored her. "You might want to try aiming before you throw people next time, though," he informed Naruto with a grimace.

"You should just be grateful I caught you guys at all—I barely had any chakra left," Naruto told him honestly.

"It never occurred to you to _not_ try to pick up three people while already flying through the air?"

Naruto laughed. "Don't be stupid! Like I'd just let you all get buried."

Red shook his head. "You need to work on your sense of self-preservation, man."

"Also, we shall never speak of this again," Hana said. "I don't like being saved by people half my age."

"I am _not_ half—" Naruto began hotly, before remembering something and turning to Jiraiya with an expression of glee. "Sensei, I beat you!"

The shaggy-haired Sannin, who had been watching the entire exchange with a thoughtful look on his face, blinked in confusion. "Eh?"

"I took out more enemies than you!"

"Yeah? How do you figure?"

"Well," Naruto began with exaggerated consideration. "There was this _avalanche_…"

"A plan engineered by myself."

"I supplied the kite, the flying technique, the execution, and the getaway. You supplied the 'boom!'"

"Hey, you're just lucky they were all so ridiculously inept!" Jiraiya retorted, a vessel throbbing in his forehead as he tried to staunch the flow of his bleeding pride.

"What—"

"That means they _sucked_! They were a throwaway band that was lumped together on short notice. You wouldn't have stood a chance against a real force."

"Remind me again why they were chasing us in the first place, _sensei_!"

Jiraiya clicked his mouth shut, before responding, "I don't know; probably because they could tell you wouldn't put up much of a fight, ya midget!"

"Well _you're_ one of the Legendary Sannin—you're the one who looks bad!"

"Why you little punk—!"

"Okay, okay," interrupted Hana. "So you both did many cool things. Now chill out, all right? Naruto, you should eat something—chakra exhaustion on an empty stomach, especially in weather like this, can get you killed."

Naruto obediently plunked down by the fire and filled a bowl with whatever savory concoction was boiling in the pot, and the other three crowded in next to him.

After a little while, Jiraiya leaned over and ruffled his hair. "I never said this, gaki," he murmured, "but it's good to have you back."

Naruto grinned back at the big shinobi. "Never said what?"

"Good man."

They all sat for a time in contented silence, eating warm food in the warm hut and listening to the snow howl outside. Then, at a little prompting from Naruto, the other three began to talk about what had happened since he'd checked out from the waking world.

Apparently, after the snow and ice had settled and the other three had peeled themselves off of the rocks Naruto had inadvertently chucked them at, they'd set out across the surface of the avalanche to find him. To his delight, they said they never would have been able to spot him if it weren't for the bright orange of his mangled kite sticking out of the snow. They had to dig him out from under more than five feet of the heavy packed stuff, and by then he'd come down with hypothermia.

"We brought your kite back," Jiraiya said awkwardly, pointing at the corner where the poor, brave contraption huddled in a pile. "It's a little the worse for wear…"

"It's okay," Naruto said, waving a hand and shocking them all. "I've got a lot of improvements to make, anyway."

Giving him strange looks, the three continued the story. They had pulled out as many of the Iwa nin as they could, working until the sun began to set and the temperature dropped dangerously with it. Placing mild memory seals on them all, Jiraiya had sent them packing back down the mountain toward Koketsu. And then it had been a mad rush up through the pass as the weather turned nasty, with late summer storms blowing up from the plains and turning to freezing rain as the clouds hit elevation.

The next two days had been like that, as they descended through a valley full of old-growth firs—totally frozen solid from the rain, and so loaded down that several nearly fell right on top of their team—and then up through the second pass. The last day—today—had actually been crisp and clear, and they got a chance to see the magnificent peaks of the Tora no Shikon in all their glory, cloaked in blue and white, with the brilliant blush of red and gold in the late summer slopes. It had been enjoyable, they said, up until they were attacked by a pair of elephant-sized tigers. But eventually they'd made it here, to the third pass, and the whiteout had swept in just a few hours earlier.

"And I had to carry you like a sack of potatoes for the whole—damn—trip," Jiraiya finished, trying to squeeze a last few drops of his shrunken skin of sake.

Naruto slumped sadly. "I missed all the fun."

Hana and Red let their jaws drop, while Jiraiya threw his hands up in the air. "Haven't you been listening, kid?! I'd rather dance naked through the nine circles of hell than go through that again!"

All three kids recoiled in horror at the mental image, and Naruto punctuated it by pulling at his hair and howling, "Gods, erase it from my brain! Erase it!"

"_I'd _rather dance naked through the nine circles of hell than hear_ you_ say that again, Jiraiya-sama," Hana quipped. Then she seemed to realize the repercussions of what she'd said as both Red and Jiraiya considered this thoughtfully. Naruto, feeling a need to cover for himself, shouted, "Gross!"

"Anyway," Hana said hastily. "We're waiting to see if this storm carries over to tomorrow; hopefully if the weather cooperates, we'll be in Iwa in two days."

"By the way, kid," Jiraiya said, helping himself to seconds from the cook-pot. "I'm gonna need you to compensate me for the Salamanders you used."

"Like _HELL_, you _goddam crazy old_—!" Naruto exploded, well on his way to working up a good froth. Then he reconsidered. "Actually… no, it was worth it."

"Glad _you_ thought so," Red muttered, grimacing at a memory.

"There is one more thing," Jiraiya added, his tone growing deadly serious. They all went still, waiting anxiously. "The memory seals I used are decent, but there's still a chance something might slip through. I don't think they got a good look at your hitai-ate, but there is a bigger problem." He glanced at Naruto. "I didn't realize it at the time, but you spent half of that fight without your disguise, kid."

Naruto felt as if someone had dropped a bucket of ice on him. Jiraiya was right. He even remembered when it had happened—he'd transformed into that clump of snow, and then when he released the henge, he'd forgotten to switch back again. "Is that… bad?"

The big shinobi snorted. "Bad? 'Bad' barely begins to cover it."

"But… I don't get it. I know we're trying to keep my age a secret and stuff, and you don't want people to know that I left Konoha, but…"

"Kid, just believe me when I tell you, if word of this travels—if they spread stories about a kid who looks like you, doing the things you were doing… There's no eloquent way to put it. We're fucked."

Suddenly, Naruto was not looking forward to arriving at their destination.

ooo

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**A/N:** Thanks for the feedback last chapter, lovely people! So I hope you enjoyed the battle! It was a btch trying to find creative ways to keep writing snow, ice, and rocks, lemme tell ya. Hopefully there aren't too many instances of repeat words . Anyway, for those who are impatiently anticipating Naruto getting home and starting school with the rest of the cast, don't worry--after the end of this bit with Iwa, Naruto will be home again, and things will be... different. Life is going to get hard for our hero very quickly, I am sad to say. But in the meantime, some aaaawesome shit is about to go down, bwahahaa. Okay, just for convenience's sake, here's a list of the new jutsu used in this chapter (and their likely ridiculous translations):

_Fuuton: Wariki no Jutsu - _"Split Firewood"

_Katon: Kiribi no Jutsu_ - "Flint Sparks"

_Jousuiki no Jutsu_ - "Water Filter"

_Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Shitagama_ - "Toad's Tongue"

ooo

Next Chapter: Iwa! The Tsuchikage! And the Chuunin Exams?


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